March 19, 2026

Photos by: Fernanda Pedroso for National Press Club of Australia 

Media organisations are being urged to move away from using outrage as a tool to attract clicks and instead concentrate on delivering information that genuinely serves the public, as they navigate a digital environment flooded with rapidly spreading misinformation. 

Ulrik Haagerup, CEO of the Constructive Institute, warned that democracy can no longer be assumed secure in an era shaped by artificial intelligence, social media, and an increasingly fragmented media ecosystem. He made the remarks on Wednesday, 18 March 2026, at the National Press Club of Australia.

“The panic in the news industry has led us to the same strategy for the last 15 years, to turn up the volume button to fight for the attention,” Ulrik Haagerup said when he addressed the National Press Club in Canberra.  

“More breaking, more sharp headlines, shorter stories, more views and more space for the loud, the most extreme and the ones with the most likes.”

Ulrik Haagerup explained that the rapid transformation of information and communication technologies has had a more disruptive impact on the news industry than on almost any other sector. He pointed out that few industries have experienced such a deep challenge to their core purpose, with their fundamental values increasingly undermined and their economic foundations pushed to the brink of collapse. 

“So to put it bluntly, Houston, we’ve got a problem. We now know that we can’t take democracy for granted,” he said.  

The founder of the Constructive Institute also presented a range of examples of constructive journalism from across the world, highlighting its strong potential to rebuild trust in the media and to give audiences a more accurate and balanced understanding of the world. 

Read the coverage from:

Mediaweek Australia: https://www.mediaweek.com.au/if-it-bleeds-it-leads-is-failing-denmarks-ulrik-haagerup-at-the-nation…

The Canberra Times: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/9202194/media-warned-to-chase-truth-not-clickbait-and-outrag…

Think News: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7440031649054044160