ABU DHABI, 10th December, 2025 (WAM) -- Eric Schurenberg, Founder of the Alliance for Trust in Media, said the goals of the Alliance and the BRIDGE Summit 2025 are “so totally aligned,” highlighting a shared commitment to rebuilding public confidence in journalism and guiding audiences toward trustworthy information.
Eric, a distinguished instructor in journalism at the University of Chicago, told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of the summit at the ADNEC Centre in Abu Dhabi that “we are all together in this effort to reimagine the information environment, allow people to find their way to trustworthy information, and help newsrooms find innovations that will build trust with increasingly sceptical audiences." He added that the work also includes “finding new revenue models that allow responsible journalism to flourish in a new world."
He said the Alliance for Trust in Media views trust as a two-way street between information suppliers and audiences. He explained that the organisation supports newsrooms in testing new approaches, whether through content formats, audience strategy or technology, and then measures the impact of these innovations to understand their effectiveness.
On the audience side, he said the Alliance partners with universities and civic organisations to enhance media literacy among adults, enabling them to navigate an increasingly crowded and chaotic information landscape and to recognise credible content when it appears in their feeds.
An editor-in-chief of Amplify Publishing Group and former CEO of Inc. and Fast Company, Eric stressed the need to educate both journalists and audiences. He said newsroom routines have gone unchanged for too long, often prioritising peer approval over audience needs. Audiences, he added, now bear a growing responsibility to identify trustworthy sources and ensure the information they consume comes from organisations committed to integrity.
He also highlighted the role of the In Reality podcast, which he hosts, describing it as a programme focused on truth, disinformation and the media. The podcast features research scientists, entrepreneurs and media leaders working to counter falsehoods and elevate reliable information. The conversations, he said, offer “a sense of hope," showcasing both the scale of the problem and the solutions emerging across the industry.
Before founding the Alliance for Trust in Media,Eric Schurenberg served as a business journalist at Fortune, Money, Business 2.0 and CBS MoneyWatch, before becoming chief executive of Inc. and Fast Company. He said those experiences reinforced the need for journalists to demonstrate competence, honesty and adherence to the principles of journalistic integrity. He added that the success of every publication he worked with depended on acting in the best interests of the audience and upholding the foundational pillars of trust.