The Article Is Dead, Long Live the Story

Beyond the Byline

At the Nordic AI in Media Summit, media innovators signaled a tectonic shift in how we think about journalism. The traditional article, once the definitive unit of news, is giving way to more dynamic, personalized, and cross-platform storytelling. Experts discussed how AI is enabling newsrooms to deliver information that’s more context-aware and multimodal – via audio snippets, interactive explainers, or chat-based interfaces. The core insight? It’s not the content that changes, but the way people access and experience it.

Machines Don’t Replace Stories – They Reinvent Them

While some fear AI as a content-generating threat, the summit’s consensus was clear: AI’s real power lies in augmenting human creativity and narrative design. Scandinavian newsrooms like Schibsted and NRK showcased how machine learning tools are helping automate repetitive tasks and personalize content delivery without compromising editorial integrity. These tools free up journalists to focus on nuanced storytelling, deep investigations, and audience impact – breaking away from the article-centered model constrained by print-era logic.

Design Thinking for Journalism’s Future

Rather than clinging to legacy formats, attendees emphasized reimagining news structures through a product and UX lens. What does storytelling look like when optimized for smart speakers, push notifications, or even variable emotional tones? Experiments in AI-generated summaries, explainers tailored to reader knowledge levels, and voice-based news delivery are opening exciting doors. As formats evolve, the storytelling instinct remains – just with new tools in hand.