Media in 2026: Trust, AI, and Attention

Dominated by the AI boom that upended media production and consumption, 2025 proved challenging for brands to find balance between AI and user-generated content. While AI offered the greatest revenue upside for marketing and sales efforts, consumers may be tiring of the over 50% of AI generated content online. 

With AI here for the long haul, we’re monitoring how the technology will continue to be used across the finance and fintech industries, plus consumer reactions to the changes. People are looking for more human connection and quality content with a human touch. The 2026 trends we’re seeing show a preference for user-generated content and a focus on filtering out noise from AI and big brands.

1. Journalists are the brands

In 2026, the reporter is the channel. Individual journalists’ newsletters, podcasts, Substacks, and LinkedIn followings increasingly rival the reach of traditional outlets. Platforms like Substack reached an estimated 5 million paid subscriptions by 2025, nearly half the scale of the New York Times’ digital audience, and have become destinations for former legacy media reporters and commentators. In many cases, audience loyalty has shifted from publications to individual journalists, particularly in finance, tech and policy.

There is also increasing concern about who (or what) is writing the content in the first place. Audiences are looking for authentic, reliable news created by humans. Only 12% of readers are comfortable with AI-generated news content, and 90% of Americans want news agencies to disclose when they use AI to create stories, text, and images. All of this underscores the shift to journalists and independent creators with the assumptions of higher integrity and greater content control. 

2. AI raises the bar for what’s newsworthy

AI-generated commentary is everywhere, and editors are becoming ruthlessly selective. Generic press releases and product announcements without real impact or original insight increasingly fail to earn coverage. PR in 2026 isn’t dying, but the floor has risen: original data, defensible POVs and real-world outcomes are non-negotiable to break through noise.

Credibility has become the true currency for PR. Journalists, editors, and (ultimately) readers are looking for brands that go beyond making empty statements. Only 28% of Americans have a great deal or fair amount of trust in mass media and the stories they produce. In turn, the role of PR has shifted from amplification to substantiation: less about filling space, more about earning trust through specificity and substance.

3. Media cycles are shorter, reputational impact is longer

Stories flare fast, but screenshots live forever. Viral moments travel across social feeds, newsletters and algorithmic recommendations within minutes, often outpacing fact-checks and corrections (hello, Astronomer/Coldplay scandal of 2025). Context can get lost in the rush to publish, and headlines can spread farther and faster than corrections. Old stories and narratives can resurface quickly during market or cultural stress, so brands need to anticipate potential reputational issues rather than react after the fact.

To stand out in a positive light in these rapid-fire news cycles, PR needs to be original and relevant in both content and distribution. Increasingly, global consumers are using social media as their main source of news with video networks leading the way. That shift demands a rethinking of how stories are packaged and released. The most effective PR in 2026 will meet people where they already are while maintaining the credibility and substance that earns attention beyond the scroll.

4. Media consolidation is reshaping coverage

Mergers, layoffs, and shrinking newsrooms are consolidating editorial power across fewer companies. Netflix’s proposed $83 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. has drawn scrutiny from regulators in the U.S. Senate and the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority as a potential competition risk. Meanwhile, legacy newsrooms continue to cut positions, from cost-saving workforce reductions at outlets such as The Washington Post to broader industry analyses showing ongoing job losses across entertainment and journalism.

Brands that understand how to support leaner newsrooms (with credible spokespeople, proprietary data, and timely insights) will win a disproportionate share of voice. In practice, this means becoming a trusted source rather than just a story pitch. Brands will need to anticipate reporters’ needs, offering clear context and delivering ready-to-use content that saves time and preserves accuracy. Those who make reporting easier while providing verifiable information will see their messages break through the noise. 

5. YouTube is the new TV (and Shorts close the funnel)

As linear TV continues to fragment, YouTube has quietly consolidated digital video at unmatched scale, reaching more than 2.7 billion monthly users globally. Short-form video is now a primary discovery channel, with YouTube Shorts generating over 200 billion daily views, while long-form content remains a destination for deeper education and trust-building. 

Together, this creates a rare full-funnel opportunity within a single ecosystem: Shorts drive reach and awareness, long-form video supports credibility and engagement, and connected TV (CTV) delivers brand-safe scale. For B2B and financial services brands, YouTube offers TV-level storytelling with digital-level accountability.

Navigating 2026 Media Trends in Financial Services

Staying ahead of media trends has never been more critical, especially in financial services, where regulatory scrutiny and fast-moving digital platforms create both risk and opportunity. At Vested, we monitor these shifts closely, helping clients adapt their communications strategies as trends change.