Future of News
Media, Thought Leadership

Driving the global conversation on news, brands, and trust

Challenge

A thriving news industry is not only the foundation of a healthy democracy, but also a critical platform for marketers and advertisers. But recent discourse around brand safety – the effort of protecting a brand’s reputation by controlling its proximity of damaging content – has hurt the news industry, as advertisers back away from news. To debunk these assumptions, HarrisX has partnered with Stagwell to launch the Future of News initiative, with the goal of reinvigorating the relationship between news and marketing.

1,000+ Global Leaders Surveyed

‍Insights drawn from more than 1,000 CEOs and Board Members worldwide at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

12+ Countries Represented

‍Multi-country studies capturing perspectives across a dozen countries since the 2024 launch.

3 Global Stages of Visibility

‍Research and findings showcased at World Economic Forum, Cannes Lions, and CES 2025, cementing global industry relevance.

Approach

Since the 2024 launch of the initiative, we have conducted multiple studies with both the general public and business leaders across more than a dozen countries – collecting insights from over 80,000 interviews to date.

In January 2025, as part of Stagwell’s programming at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, we unveiled findings from a global survey of more than 1,000 CEOs and Board Directors. The study explored executive perspectives on key forces shaping the future, including economic conditions, artificial intelligence (AI), and the evolving relationship between business leaders and the news media.

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Result

  • Sparked an industry-wide rethink of brand safety guidelines and unintended consequences
  • Positioned Stagwell as a champion for both journalism and smart marketing
  • Showcased that consumers differentiate ads from news stories
  • Achieved global visibility at the World Economic Forum, Cannes Lions 2025 Festival, Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

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