The Nieman Journalism Laboratory of Harvard University released the “Journalism Forecast for 2026” and invited 20 experts in the news field to express their views on news trends in the next year. Some experts believe that AI’s search and summary functions have weakened the value of explanatory reporting, but breaking news, exclusive and in-depth investigative reports are still difficult to be replaced by AI. What other possible news trends are there for next year?

Valérie Bélair-Gagnon, associate professor at the School of Communication at the University of Minnesota, predicts that the most urgent question in 2026 will no longer be “what is true”, but why the rumors and stories that circulate resonate. People spread misinformation not because they believe the content, but because they may express anger, identity, or even distrust of traditional news organizations.

Gagnon believes that the long-standing fact-checking (fact-checking) will be transformed into a kind of “friction-checking”, and misinformation will be repositioned as an emotional connection and structural phenomenon, rather than just factual errors. However, Gagnon also emphasized that despite this, fact-checking is still crucial, but it is no longer just about correcting errors to combat false information, but it is more necessary to resolve conflicts caused by false information.

🚀 Potential Business Opportunities and Ventures

The emerging trends of friction-checking, the human-led focus on exclusive/investigative reporting, and the audience’s underlying emotional drivers create rich opportunities for entrepreneurial ventures.

• Emotional Resonance and Conflict Resolution:
  • The “Friction-Check” Platform: A B2B service or SaaS platform that provides news organizations with sentiment analysis and community mapping tools. It would analyze the emotional subtext and structural roots of viral misinformation within specific communities, suggesting narrative frameworks and language strategies to address the underlying anger, identity, or distrust rather than just correcting facts.
  • Narrative Journalism Consulting: A boutique agency specializing in teaching journalists and communications teams how to craft stories that integrate psychological insights and conflict-resolution techniques. This would help them create content that acknowledges and addresses emotional triggers, fostering productive dialogue instead of polarization.
• Elevating Core Journalism:
  • “Scoop Accelerator” Venture Fund: A non-profit or for-profit fund dedicated solely to providing rapid, no-strings-attached funding to freelance journalists and small teams for high-risk, high-reward investigative projects that require significant travel, time, and legal resources—the kind of work AI cannot replicate.
  • Hyperlocal Accountability Hubs: A network of franchisable, micro-newsroom models focused entirely on local investigative reporting and citizen engagement. They would be subscription-based, using AI for back-end automation (transcription, data analysis) but dedicating all human time to local accountability.
• Audience Engagement and Trust:
  • Trust-as-a-Service (TaaS): A third-party certification and auditing service that verifies a news organization’s journalistic process, transparency, and ethical use of AI. News outlets could display a “Verified for Trust” badge, creating a competitive advantage in a fragmented information market.