The need to fight for a quality media ecosystem

The need to fight for a quality media ecosystem

With the world seemingly turning on its head (again), it seems a good time to quickly reflect on one of the biggest moments in recent times for our industry.

It takes a lot for our industry’s big brands to speak in one voice and last week was one such moment, with a powerful message dominating the front pages of nearly all major newspapers.

“MAKE IT FAIR” – a campaign led by News Media Association directly calling out the government for favouring Big Tech over British creativity, allowing AI models to exploit content without permission or payment, may be one of the defining moments of our era.

Amongst the rightful fascination with the crazy things we can see happening here in the foothills of a potential AI revolution, it would be easy to miss vital context on what is happening.

Media at its best should always strive to push boundaries, but never at the expense of quality or integrity, and we’ve long been banging the drum that it’s time for a creative revolution alongside a tech revolution. We believe in the power of AI to supercharge campaigns (such as the excellent work by RAAS LAB), but there’s a huge danger of AI being used to cut corners, or to flood the ecosystem with sloppy creative & deepfakes.

Without protections there is also risk of making it unviable for the creators that drive our valuable media ecosystem to make a living.

Notorious support this campaign unequivocally.

If we don’t demand quality creative, quality creators, and quality regulation, we risk eroding the foundation of trust that our industry relies on.

It is worth investing in a future where AI elevates creativity, not exploits it, and allows us to place greater value on a media landscape driven by values, originality, ingenuity, and – of course – the human touch.

The truth is, we will ultimately get the media ecosystem that we’re willing to fight for and invest in.

This was an important moment for the industry to show it values both.