Okay, hereS a breakdown of the key takeaways from the provided text, focusing on what Gen Z wants from news, according to IN/LAB’s research:
Core themes: What Gen Z Wants From News
* Agency & Interaction: Gen Z doesn’t want news to be a passive experience. They want control over how they consume it, and even a role in shaping it. They feel current news formats are too rigid and lack opportunities for interaction.
* Social Responsibility: They expect journalism to be responsible, ethical, and actively work to bridge societal divides. They see news as potentially a unifying force. They are concerned about the reckless use of AI by tech companies and want news media to be different.
* Desire for Understanding: They want journalism to foster understanding between different groups in society.
Specific Desires/Expectations:
* Format Choice: they want to be able to choose how they receive news (e.g., articles, beats/songs, different perspectives presented).
* Feedback Mechanisms: They want their feedback to be heard and used to improve news coverage. (The “Flow” prototype exemplifies this – AI collecting feedback for journalists).
* Ethical Considerations:
* Minimize environmental impact.
* Avoid reinforcing stereotypes or prejudice.
* Connect people across differing perspectives.
Examples of Prototypes/Experiments:
* News as Music: Transforming articles into musical formats.
* Flow: A platform allowing users to choose formats, see perspectives, and request additional viewpoints, with AI feeding back to journalists.
* News Creators Project: Researching the role of news creators on social media and co-creating stories with young people.
* Parlia Experiment: Using a dialog platform to compare views across demographics and foster understanding.
Key Questions for News Organizations (as highlighted by IN/LAB):
* How much responsibility should news media take for helping users assess reliability?
* How much power should be given to audiences in shaping their news experiences?
* Should journalism actively connect people across differences, and if so, how?
In essence, the research suggests Gen Z wants news to be more participatory, responsible, and focused on building bridges rather than exacerbating divisions.
