After an in-depth engagement process with the media ecosystem in Europe and beyond, we are ready to share their recommendations. The developments in generative and General Purpose AI (GPAI) systems have raised concerns about extractive data practices, market concentration by a small number of big tech providers, and pervasive weaknesses in data governance. These have implications for how public interest media, a key cornerstone of our democracies, sustain their content production and protect their integrity. The Data Tank facilitated an action research project and ecosystem dialogue to convene key stakeholders in the media sector and identify strategies that can leverage the power of small and medium media organisations in Europe vis a vis large Generative AI providers. The goal was to ensure that the media not only serve the public better across contexts and languages but also derive fair value from their public interest work.

The aims were:

● Mobilising power through convening and tapping into collective intelligence from the current media ecosystem in Europe

● Strengthening the media community by providing knowledge on potential tools and solutions and pathways forward

● Helping media organisations to agree on a roadmap and actions

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The expected outcome by June 2026 was to have brought together an engaged community and potential coalition, with surfaced needs, and defined potential pathways for public-interest media to protect and leverage their power and data in the AI era. The target participants for this phase were small and regional media organisations and networks in Europe in particular, although the process convened a range of actors to understand the different views and potential leverages across sectors and geographies on the way forward. To achieve the aims outlined above, the process encompassed the following activities: (i) an ecosystem mapping, (ii) a comprehensive literature review, (iii) a two-part online dialogue, (iv) an asynchronous wiki-poll. 

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This report documents the convening process and the resulting areas of common ground and recommendations for the next steps. The results are clear pointers for the media sector in Europe to push a common vision and strengthen public interest media in such a critical juncture. We are grateful to the approximately 120 individuals and represented organisations who engaged in this dialogue. We call on policymakers, funders and the wider media ecosystem to consider these recommendations for next steps of funding, investment, regulation and coalition-building.

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