Navigating new and traditional media as AI advances

DAVOS, Switzerland – Communication leaders should look at new media platforms – like podcasts, influencers and social media – when considering how to get their message out, DoorDash chief corporate affairs officer Liz Jarvis-Shean said.

Why it matters: New media has a "connection to their audience" and is a "source they can trust," Jarvis-Shean said.

Axios' Eleanor Hawkins moderated conversations with Jarvis-Shean and Pfizer EVP and chief corporate affairs officer Sally Susman in Davos. The Jan. 23 discussion was sponsored by Weber Shandwick North America.

What they're saying: "Fundamentally, it is about respect for the audiences that you're trying to reach. And … they trust different things today," Jarvis-Shean said.

Yes, but: New media doesn't replace traditional media entirely, Jarvis-Shean added.

• "So much of the content that comes out [of new media] is built off of something that is talked about in traditional media. So it is a 'yes, and' you need to continue to have relationships with all kinds of traditional media."

Caveat: New media can be transactional since "for many of those people, it is their business, Jarvis-Shean said.

• She added that new media platforms are not "effective if it also isn't authentic to the story that you're trying to tell."

As the media landscape evolves, so does technology. With AI's rapid advancements, communications leaders must adapt their workflows or they could risk feeling "FOBO," or the fear of being obsolete, Susman said.

• "I have, really, to think about what is going to be [the] upskilling that I need to do, that my team needs to do to live in that world," Susman added.

Sponsored content:

In a View From the Top sponsored segment, Weber Shandwick North America CEO Jim O'Leary said despite CEOs having renewed economic optimism, company leaders are concerned about the increased volatility in the world and many are less confident that their communications teams can navigate it.

• "Certainly there's an opportunity for communications, public affairs, corporate affairs [and] government relations teams, to help CEOs [and] other leaders, kind of predictively or proactively navigate all of that volatility," O'Leary said.