Jeff Zucker at BRIDGE Summit 2025: ‘Individual storytellers will shape media of tomorrow’

  Individuals, not legacy institutions, will drive the future of journalism, believes Jeff Zucker, CEO & Operating Partner, RedBird IMI & RedBird Capital Partners. 

Speaking today at the BRIDGE Summit 2025, the world’s largest debut media event, the former CNN president said, “The thing about journalism is that the institution was the main thing, but today the individual is the main thing. [In the past] institutions used to confer credibility upon the individual, but now it's the other way around. And I think people are looking much more to individuals in this new creator economy, this new AI world.” 

During the session titled ‘The Comfort Crisis in Media’, the 14-time Emmy Award winner and three-time Peabody Award recipient, said creators need to get out of their comfort zone to thrive in the new age. “I think that journalism that goes deep and gives the consumer a reason to subscribe to that journalistic outlet will work and succeed”. 

Zucker, who is one of the most influential leaders in modern media, said general journalism will be very difficult to sustain in a world of AI. “Today’s economic models make broad-based journalism unsustainable. Content creators have to give people something different that they can't get anywhere else,” he said. 

Responding to a question on how to ensure trustworthy journalism today, he said, “In a world of AI, who do I trust? I come back to what I was just talking about. I trust individuals. So even within an institution, I'm really looking for an individual who I trust.” 

During the session, he said Netflix’s acquisition of the film and streaming businesses of Warner Bros Discovery was good for the industry. “Warner Brothers has incredible IP intellectual property, and I think it proves that media companies, whether they're legacy or new, need even greater scale.” 

In the end, he said, it is the consumer who stands to gain. “There's never been greater content available. People feel these mergers and acquisitions mean less content available. I don't agree. I think there's more content available - it's just available in different places.” 

The debut edition of BRIDGE Summit takes place from 8–10 December 2025 at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi. Expected to welcome more than 60,000 participants from 132 countries and over 430 speakers, the Summit provides a structured environment for leaders, innovators, and institutions to examine shared challenges, exchange perspectives, and explore practical collaboration across media, content, entertainment, technology, finance, culture, and the wider creative economy.

WAM