NYT international president advocates trust-building amid misinformation era

Building trust with readers is important in the age of AI and social platforms, said The New York Times International President Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, while being in a country that offers freedom of the press also helps.

Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, international president of The New York Times Company, far left, speaks during a panel discussion at Ewha Womans University in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on Tuesday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Building trust with readers is important in the age of AI and social platforms, said The New York Times (NYT) International President Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, while being in a country that offers freedom of the press also helps.

"As social and search platforms increasingly distribute news and information, they have fostered an ecosystem overrun by misinformation, conspiracy, propaganda and clickbait," said Dunbar-Johnson during a keynote speech at Ewha Womans University on Tuesday. "They have strained the direct relationship between journalists and readers, which is essential for fostering trust and loyalty. The rise of artificial intelligence, which some estimate has produced over 90 percent of all online content in just a few years, will only further blur the line between what's real and what isn't."

Dunbar-Johnson said that newspapers can avoid such risks by essentially doing good journalism, no matter how much of an "old-fashioned answer" that is.

"It's about the rigor of the work you do and the trust you build over time," said Dunbar-Johnson. "It's about making sure you are really reporting about the subject properly, asking the right questions and it's also about good editing."

He said this can be an advantage if media outlets do it right, and this is the case for The New York Times as people "turn to The New York Times because they want an independent perspective."

The number of paid subscribers The New York Times has built, which is now more than 10 million, is one of the many pieces of evidence that show the title has successfully maintained trust with readers.

He said that being in a country where freedom of the press is provided is an important factor in maintaining an independent perspective.

The New York Times chose to relocate its Asia hub from Hong Kong to Korea in 2021 because of the freedom of the press in Korea, emphasizing the need for future generations to maintain the country’s press status.

"But Korea can't become complacent," said Dunbar-Johnson. "You are the next generation of Korean leaders and it will fall to you to build on the strengths of the last four decades of progress here, and not allow a backsliding like so many young democracies around the world."

Despite Korea being The New York Times' choice for its Asia hub, Dunbar-Johnson also touched on the issue of Korea slipping on the World Press Freedom Index.

Korea ranked 62nd in the 2024 index, falling 15 places from the previous year.

"We chose South Korea [as our Asia base] because of its status of having a robust, free and independent media," said Dunbar-Johnson. "It still does, but it hasn't gone unnoticed that there has been a bit of backsliding on Article 21, and we will watch that very carefully. We want to stay in South Korea, and I'm pretty confident we will, but we don't take anything for granted anymore."

Article 21 of Korea's constitution states that all citizens shall enjoy freedom of speech and the press, and freedom of assembly and association.

Despite there being countries where freedom of the press is restricted, Dunbar-Johnson said the newspaper still tries to physically go to those countries to report and get a better understanding of the area, rather than deploying parachute journalism.

Countries like China, Iran and Venezuela are some examples where it struggles to dispatch journalists.

"We've often had our journalists thrown out of China because they don't like what we've written, but we continue to try to do journalism," said Dunbar-Johnson. "There are parts of the world that are very hostile to New York Times journalists but we will always try to get into those countries even when we're not officially supposed to be there."

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]