If Journalism Has a Future, Gen Z is Writing It

Journalism isn’t falling behind because the public has stopped caring about the truth and news. It’s falling behind because too many newsrooms are clinging to outdated norms—hesitating to evolve while the world moves forward at full speed.

In a field historically defined by courage, today’s greatest threat isn’t misinformation or even AI. It’s institutional complacency. It’s the refusal to listen to those who see the cracks most clearly: young, passionate journalists who are watching the legacy systems they’ve inherited crumble in real time. Who know firsthand why audiences are tuning out traditional media and turning to creators and influencers..

I recently spoke with a 24 year old broadcast journalist who has worked across two medium-sized U.S. markets over the past two years. From burnout and broken systems to the hope she still holds for the future of storytelling, she offers a candid glimpse into where journalism stands and where it urgently needs to go. She doesn’t just represent a new generation, she embodies a movement. Gen Z isn’t here to quietly inherit the newsroom. They’re here to rebuild it.

The Courage to Challenge the System

This story isn’t just about the bravery it takes to report on disasters or share political exposés. It’s about the quieter courage required to challenge norms that no longer serve journalism or its audience.

She entered the field with a clear mission: to give voice to the voiceless. Like many of her fellow reporters, she’s not in it for the prestige or paycheck, because let’s be honest, there’s little of either. She’s in it because journalism matters.

Yet the expectations are crushing. Too often, she says, she’s expected to do it all. Anchor, report, shoot, edit packages, log interviews, write, break stories daily, and engage on social media. All while being underpaid, overworked, and relentlessly scrutinized.

“I wasn’t even making a livable wage,” she shared. “I’m lucky my parents can help when I fall short on rent. But I see so many talented and passionate journalists leave the industry because they simply can’t make ends meet.”

The financial strain is real, compounded by rigid schedules, outdated tools, and inflexible in-office mandates. Burnout hits hard, often before young reporters even have a chance to grow.

News Isn’t on the 6 p.m. Broadcast Anymore

She sees the future of journalism where the audience already is—on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, streaming platforms, and podcasts. Not in studios, but in comment sections, DMs, and creator ecosystems where audiences are hungry for real connection.

Today, people no longer trust institutions. They trust individuals.

Audiences want authenticity, not polish. They want to know who’s telling the story, why it matters, and how it’s being made. She embraces that. She puts her face to her work. She shares behind-the-scenes footage and invites viewers into her process.

“I’ve had people follow me from one market to another,” she said. “They remember me and they trust me—not the station, me.”

This is the shift: trust is earned through transparency and 1:1 relationships. Yet many legacy newsrooms are still designing coverage for audiences that no longer exist, while neglecting to invest in the ones that do.

Neutrality Is a Privilege—Truth Is a Duty

She expressed frustration at newsroom policies that muzzle transparency, especially during moments of global crisis.

“People are seeing horrors in Gaza and Ukraine on social media,” she said. “But they’re not seeing it on TV. And that disconnect is frustrating, for us and for viewers.”

Media organizations often restrict what journalists can say and report on. “You’re under contract. You have to maintain a certain image. But is showing the reality of war bias? I don’t think so.”

This isn’t about partisanship, it’s about honesty. Gen Z doesn’t want a both-sides approach to genocide. They want clarity. They want to know their journalists see what they see, feel what they feel, and aren’t afraid to say: This is not okay.

Relevance Requires Reinvention

When asked what current newsroom leaders don’t understand about younger audiences, her answer was simple: “They don’t understand that 99% of Gen-Z does not watch live TV.”

Most newsroom leaders are still working from a playbook written for an audience that hasn’t watched live TV in years. Meanwhile, young journalists like her are trying to serve a generation raised on streaming, short-form video, and algorithmic feeds.

Many newsroom leaders still operate from a playbook written for a different generation.

“We need more accessible content,” she says. “More streaming. More stories that feel human and hopeful, not just doom and gloom.”

This disconnect isn’t just a staffing issue. It’s a crisis of relevance. Young talent walks away. Leadership stays out of touch. And the cycle continues: stagnation, fragmentation, and an audience that turns elsewhere.

AI Isn’t the Threat—Resistance to It Is

In newsrooms, the most controversial word right now? AI.

But for journalists like her, AI isn’t a threat, it’s a lifeline. It’s a tool to eliminate the tedious and reclaim time for real storytelling.

“There’s so much that slows us down, transcribing, formatting, tracking data. AI can help.”

Despite this, some newsrooms ban AI tools. And while more media organizations are beginning to implement AI training, policies remain murky and overly restrictive.

Young reporters don’t want to use AI to write the news. They want to use it to do their jobs better and do more. But outdated policies still ban these tools, limiting productivity while journalists are stretched thinner than ever.

The Future of Storytelling Is Multi-Modal

For journalism to thrive, not just survive, media organizations must stop treating social content and multimedia storytelling as afterthoughts.

Reinvention isn’t about copy-pasting the same story across platforms. It’s about reimagining storytelling from the ground up—where digital, video, audio, and social-first formats are just as essential as a traditional print piece or broadcast package. And it starts with a clear-eyed acknowledgment: slapping an AI voiceover on an article or uploading a text-to-audio version isn’t true multimedia storytelling.

“Every reporter should be telling stories on social media daily,” she said. “Not just reposted headlines, but your voice, your face, your words. That’s how you build trust.”

But achieving this level of authentic engagement is nearly impossible with today’s workflows. Most reporters are already juggling multiple roles. Without consistent support from editors, visual journalists, or social producers, both content quality and creative momentum suffer.

This is where technology can make a transformative difference. AI is shrinking the cost of creating secondary content—articles, videos, audio segments—derived from a single source. Once newsrooms stop viewing manual creation as the only path to quality, they can begin exploring scalable, personalized, multi-modal strategies that deepen audience connection.

With thoughtful AI integration and smarter resource allocation, newsrooms can finally support the human creativity that makes journalism matter.

The Change Journalism Needs

Her vision for a reimagined newsroom is rooted in empathy, transparency, and connection.

She’d prioritize:

She’d invest in relationships. Normalize social storytelling. Celebrate individuality. And design news for where people actually are, not where they used to be.