Welcome to The Signal, hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard. The second part of this deep dive into Sulzberger's speech considers whether there's a pressure not to dissent from the message of speeches like this one. Why weren't journalists asking more questions of OpenAI's Varun Shetty when they had the chance?

Does the news industry hold itself to the same standards it demands of the technology companies - and do audiences even understand that? Tom and Fergus look into the "simplistic" arguments around search, social media and advertising: where does the burden of responsibility really lie, what does future sustainability look like, and how do you learn from what's gone wrong?

Fergus tackles his "multiple problems" with Sulzberger's speech, and considers whether it's right that one news organisation gets to set the tone of the conversation. How do news organisations use AI in the right way? Is being a "destination for news" a soon-to-be outdated idea in an AI-intermediated world? What are the industry's standards, and how should it build trust with audiences? And if you believe in the power of AI, how do you build the technologies of the future? The Signal is here to spark the conversation.

If you want to understand how the news is being created and distributed, how AI is — and can be — used in newsrooms, insights from media leaders and practical thinking on the future of journalism, as well as honest conversations about what's working and what isn't, then subscribe and follow to stay close to The Signal.

Fergus and Tom will be here every week. Find The Signal on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts.

Produced by Rob Fitzpatrick

Edited by James Bullock

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