The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Mr. Sulemana Braimah, has told a convening of global media icons that the best defence of the journalism profession against the disruptive onslaught of digital technology, especially Artificial Intelligence, is authenticity in storytelling.
Speaking at the opening day of the inaugural Bridge Media summit in Abu Dhabi on Monday, December 8, 2025, Mr. Braimah said transparency, credibility and, ultimately, the impact on society are what will determine the value of stories to audiences. “In the newsroom, we always have to ask why we are doing this story, what is the story in the story, who is it for?” he said, urging media outlets to choose depth over the superficiality of algorithmic favour.
A 2023 Eisenhower Fellowships Impact Award recipient, Mr. Braimah added that, “Stories that get views don’t necessarily mean they hold value. We need to keep asking why, what’s the value, what are we helping by making this story.” He spoke on the topic, “Fighting for Depth in a Shallow Media World.”
Other Global Media Icons Speak
The summit which is a gathering of global media heavyweights, received an address from Jeff Zucker, former president of CNN Worldwide, former CEO of NBC Universal, and current CEO and operating partner at RedBird IMI and RedBird Capital Partners.
Also in attendance were Moataz Fattah, a journalism professor and presenter at Al-Mashhad TV, Jim Bankoff, co-founder and CEO of Vox Media, Pooja Bagga, chief information officer at Guardian Media Group, Elizabeth Linder, founder and chief diplomatic officer at Brooch Associates, and Branko Brkic, leader at Project Kontinuum, an initiative that aims to reaffirm news media’s positive role in the global community.
Originality and authenticity as traditional journalism’s best defence against AI echoed through the words of most of the speakers, with Jeff Zucker observing that niche journalism is a truly viable option. “Economic models may broaden, so I think that niche journalism that goes deep and gives the consumer an edge and a reason to subscribe to that journalistic outlet — that’s what will work and that’s what will succeed.”
Moataz Fattah, said that journalists sell themselves short if they allow only what the platforms that they leverage want, to determine their output: “Don’t do what pleases platforms, do what is right and go to where the audience is,” he said, adding, “How to be authentic is to be true to what you believe in.”
Branko Brkic questioned, “If we are giving readers and audiences [only] what they want, why do we exist? Why do they need us?” before adding that “We have to be half a step ahead, we need to satisfy the needs that they know they have but also fill the needs they didn’t know they wanted.”
On his part, Jim Bankoff, said that in the current digital age, journalists can maintain relevance if they do things that are essential for their audiences. “Work on something that makes you essential to your core audience,” he said.
But Pooja Bagga warned that on the internet, audiences define the rules of news delivery and that the onus lay with media companies to reinvent themselves. “It’s all about what our audience want, what they want to see, how they want to see it, which formats they want to interact with and when they want to consume the news,” she said.
Elizabeth Linder, on her part, stressed the need for transparency and broad understanding on how decisions are made by media and tech companies to ensure “a productive social contract.” She called for conversations between governments, tech platforms and individuals, citing Australia’s Communications Minister Anika Wells, who introduced a bill to ban social media use for children under the age of 16. “Especially with the development of AI technology coming in, we need to take a really big step back and reframe this entire conversation.”
The Summit
The Bridge Summit 2025 was held in the United Arab Emirates from 8 to 10 December 2025. It brought together over 1,000 global media owners, creators, innovators, and decision-makers. The summit serves as a major global platform for dialogue, exhibition, and collaboration in the media and entertainment industry.
