• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, September 21, 2025

The news business is grappling with multiple threats to its survival, from technology to politics.

But there is a possible framework for fighting. The International News Media Association (INMA) has released three Basic Principles for safeguarding journalism in the digital and artificial intelligence (AI) era.  

Most serious publishers are probably already following these ideas in some form. But here they are encapsulated for those who need a refresher: 

"Journalism matters," says Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of INMA. "It is the bedrock of free societies, giving citizens the facts they need to make decisions and holding power to account. Yet today, journalism’s work is being taken without consent, credit, or fair compensation. This imbalance is unsustainable for media businesses — and dangerous for democracy itself.” 

With that in mind, here are the Basic Principles offered by INMA:  

1. Journalism as a democratic cornerstone — this includes the recognition of journalism as a public good, protected by law and practice. It follows that there must be safeguards for editorial independence and press freedom, and investment in media literacy and “innovative forms of constructive journalism." 
2. Fair compensation for journalistic intellectual property — publishers must have licensing frameworks requiring explicit consent and payment for the use of journalistic content in AI systems, INMA says. There also must be full transparency in AI training day, clear attribution and copyright enforcement. 
3. Fair competition in the digital marketplace — this requires enforceable rules to counteract “platform dominance and discriminatory algorithms,” INMA writes. Also, it calls for fair access to consumer data, app stores and digital marketplaces.

Part of that last guiding principle — “fair access to consumer data” — might give pause to some privacy advocates. Given the level of personalized engagement that they offer, publishers must be very sensitive to this issue.  

But, as Wilkinson notes, “These Principles are not theory — they are a road map for urgent action," adding, “The choices made today will decide whether trusted journalism survives the decade. With courage and clarity, we can ensure journalism does not just endure, but thrives — and with it, the democratic societies it serves.”

Similar ideas were voiced by Daisy Veerasingham, president and CEO of Associated Press during an Axios Media Trends Live event last week. 

“We established two principles right at the beginning of this and the two principles are what’s helped guide our decision making — even to this day,” Veerasingham said, AP reports. 

First, “our intellectual property has to be protected,” Veerasingham explained. “Why is that important? Because we put journalists on the front lines every single day.” That entails risks. Second, “we have to achieve a fair value for that.”

AP formed a collaboration with OpenAI in 2023, and says it was the first news organization to do so. And earlier this year, it expanded its relationship with Google to provide AP’s journalism on Google’s Gemini app.  

“We’re a licensing business so we have a good framework,” Veerasingham said. “I think it is really important where those two principles can be respected — that you get independent fact-based and nonpartisan journalism information or content into the training of these algorithms."

Veerasingham added: “That is an absolute fundamental. We are talking about huge amounts of misinformation already and that’s only going to get exacerbated and I do think that’s one of the reasons they do want to work with us because they understand the value.”