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The 2026 Adenauer Media Lecture will explore this question through the lens of Constructive Journalism – an approach that seeks to move beyond simply reporting what is going wrong and instead examines what people need to understand in order to navigate complex challenges.
We are excited to welcome Ellen Heinrichs, founder and CEO of the Bonn Institute, as this year’s keynote speaker. Drawing on her work as a journalism innovator, Heinrichs argues that the future of journalism will not be defined by competing with AI, but by strengthening what makes journalism genuinely valuable to people and democratic societies: human connection, curiosity, empathy, dialogue and the ability to navigate complexity.
Constructive Journalism does not mean putting a positive spin on the news. Rather, it goes beyond describing problems to investigate responses, perspectives and possible ways forward – while maintaining journalistic rigour. It asks what can be learned from attempts to address complex challenges and how journalism can help audiences make sense of an increasingly complicated world.
In her keynote, Heinrichs will explore how journalism can move beyond simply informing audiences to helping people understand one another, engage across differences and make sense of rapid change. She will also examine why skills such as listening, asking better questions, bringing different perspectives together and identifying what works are becoming increasingly important in an age of AI.
The lecture will offer a hopeful yet practical perspective on how Constructive Journalism can help journalism remain not only human, but indispensable in the age of AI.
The Adenauer Media Lecture is a collaboration between KAS Media Africa and the Wits Centre for Journalism.
