Can we still be saved, Nadia Zaboura? A conversation about 2026 – the fateful year for journalism

Our present is shaped by profound changes—some creeping, like climate change, others abrupt, like Russia’s war against Ukraine or the launch of ChatGPT. In this environment, journalists must provide context, convey reactions from politics, business, and science, gather perspectives from citizens, and critically question events. Yet amid the cacophony of social media and increasingly hardened political and media fronts, more and more news outlets are losing sight of this mission—and squandering trust. At the same time, economic pressure is growing, fueled by AI-driven competition.

What is at stake for journalism in 2026? And what can help right now? These questions will be discussed by Publix Director Maria Exner and Nadia Zaboura, communication scholar, publicist, and one of Germany’s most incisive media critics. In July 2025, she published her book "Media Between Power and Powerlessness", co-authored with researchers Rainer Nübel and Daniel Rolle. In interviews and on stage, she regularly analyzes the causes of news fatigue and the erosion of trust, for example through the lens of coverage of migration or the war in Palestine and Israel.

At the first event in the "Can we still be saved?" series (formerly Publix Thursday), Nadia Zaboura will clearly identify the most urgent problems facing journalism and the resulting need for action—and, above all, outline pathways and solutions. After all, a better future begins with envisioning it concretely.

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