July 3, 2025
The World Media Group began the week in Cannes with The Editors’ View panel at the RTL Ad Alliance Beach. World Media Group CEO Jamie Credland chaired the discussion with Emma Tucker, Editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, Dr Gregor Peter Schmitz, Editor-in-chief of Stern, and Ellana Lee, Group Senior VP, GM APAC & Global Head of Productions at CNN, where they discussed the biggest stories impacting business, marketers and audiences around the world.
The state of journalism
Credland began by asking Tucker, who moved to the US two and a half years ago, how things had changed over the past two years. Tucker highlighted that journalism in the U.S. is facing an existential crisis, with increasing polarisation, attacks from political figures across the spectrum and technological disruption of the industry. This tension creates both challenges and renewed demand for trustworthy reporting.
Tucker made changes to the Wall Street Journal’s Washington, D.C. bureau in anticipation of the 2024 election cycle, reflecting the need to adapt quickly to political volatility and the “firehose” of news. “I restructured my DC Bureau a year before the election, and that allowed us to be in good shape now for what is an incredible moment in the news cycle,” she said, with huge amounts of uncertainty, and very much a moment when people “are turning to the Wall Street Journal to help them make sense of what’s going on.”
Gregor Peter Schmitz noted that while European journalism is less polarised than in the U.S., Europe isn’t immune. There is rising distrust in the media, more physical threats to journalists and criticism from influential figures, such as Elon Musk, who has attacked Stern over its election coverage. “You’ve seen the rise of the right wing in Germany, people that are very critical of the institutions, similar to the US, and are losing confidence in the press, the media, even though our media landscape is different.”
Ellana Lee described a shift in the perception of journalistic safety. While a few years ago reporters in Hong Kong were under pressure, now the concern is often directed at conditions for journalists in the U.S. “Three or four years ago, our colleagues would call us up and say, ‘Are you guys okay? Is it okay to be a journalist in Hong Kong?’ Today, I think we’re calling our US colleagues and saying, are you okay? Is it okay to be a journalist in the United States? So things have evolved and changed dramatically.”
Despite all these challenges, there’s still strong demand from “news junkies” for trusted, reliable information.
Global business and tariffs
Tariffs and trade uncertainty are reshaping global commerce, especially under Trump’s consistent and aggressive pro-tariff stance. Tucker explained Trump’s love for tariffs as a core strategy to reduce trade imbalances. “Trump spoke a lot in his campaign about his desire to do something about the big trade imbalances affecting America, and he was true to his word when he came in,“ she said. “Trump loves tariffs. He believes in them. He thinks they’re a great way to sort out these trade imbalances and bring revenue to the US.”
Despite uncertainty as a result of Trump’s somewhat erratic approach, Tucker says business leaders are pragmatic and are “just plugging away”, because there’s no other way to respond.
The panel discussed how China relations have evolved with the focus shifting from tariffs to export controls, particularly over semiconductors and critical minerals, signalling a deeper strategic and technological rivalry.
Schmitz explained that Germany is particularly vulnerable due to its reliance on cheap Russian energy, high exports to China and a world order that was guaranteed and underwritten by the United States, all of which is now unstable. “All three items are beginning to fall apart for us. There are some industries that are more affected, like the chemical industry and cars,” he said. “Overall, it’s a blow to us, and it’s particularly difficult right now because we have been in the third year of recession.”
China and Asia Pacific leading innovation
Lee talked about the fact that China and the broader Asia Pacific are accelerating innovation in response to U.S. trade hostility. “While President Trump is trying to make America great, he is making China great,” she said. “All of this is pushing China, pushing Asia, to a level of innovation that I’m not so sure America can keep up with in the long term.”
In the U.S., the AI boom is dominated by big mega corporations, whereas in China it is more generalised. “China is not stifling innovators so you are seeing the flexibility and nimbleness of companies like Xiaomi, who used to make mobile phones, now making EV cars,” Lee explained.
China and Korea are employing long-term national strategies to push technologies like AI, quantum computing and drones. In contrast, innovation in the U.S. is more market-driven and decentralised.
As for Europe, Lee was pessimistic: “While China and the U.S. are shaping the future of AI, putting all their money into these huge investments, Europe, frankly, is nowhere in this, which is, I think, a worry.” she said.
Tucker said that Europe is lagging both in AI development and the digital economy because its strength lies in regulation (e.g. GDPR and the AI Act), not innovation. Panelists expressed concern that Europe needs to do more to foster tech entrepreneurship and compete on a global scale.
While China and Korea are leapfrogging into the green economy with rapid progress in EVs and renewable tech, in the U.S., there is a growing backlash against the net-zero transition, driven by political polarisation and fossil fuel interests.
The stories to watch: underreported stories
Credland finished the session by asking each panelist to share an under-reported story that they believe deserves more attention in the coming year. For Tucker, it’s “The level of pocket-lining that is taking place under this (US) administration, sometimes under the guise of crypto, sometimes dodgy deals that are done outside the normal rules of diplomacy. I think everyone needs to keep an eye on that,” she said.
For Schmitz it’s the need for a more optimistic and proactive narrative about European innovation: “I think there is a lack of reporting on innovation and science [demonstrating] a more optimistic outlook for Europe and European innovation. That’s tough to report because we tend to be on the critical side.”
For Lee, it’s the rising innovation in military-industrial sectors across Asia: “I think that innovation in the military space is really interesting,” she said. “There are a lot of companies, specifically in the Asia Pacific, that started off creating weapons during wartime, and they were dormant. But in this world, with the shift in the geopolitical situation that’s happening, I think it’s the one sector where you’re going to see a lot of movement,” she said.
As a final note, the panelists emphasised the need for media to remain independent, avoid becoming part of political stories and to focus on delivering fact-based, balanced reporting, especially in an era of heightened propaganda and media attacks. Trust and credibility, they agreed, are the most valuable currencies in modern journalism.