As AI tools increasingly rely on trusted, mainstream media as a primary source for their summaries and answers, is there a resurgence of traditional media about to happen?

Google’s AI Overview is a clear example of where you will see this every day. As a result, coverage from respected journalists in established outlets is no longer just about reputation - it is about visibility, credibility, and discoverability in an AI-driven world.

Social-first content & creator activity now sits alongside traditional media relations as a core part of what we do at Run, with our efforts split roughly 50/50 between influencers and key journalists. That balance is working well but, for a while, traditional media relations has felt like the less glamorous sell.

It was the discipline we excelled at but, in recent years, it has been harder to reinforce its value. That is quickly changing.

Securing coverage on BBC News, the BBC Sport website, The Times, The Guardian, the Financial Times or BBC Radio 5 Live has always impressed.

Established, credible, influential and ‘moves the dial’ reputationally.

What has changed is the rationale. When now also viewed through the lens of “this matters because it feeds the AI tools people increasingly rely on”, the value of earned coverage has never been clearer.

And that is before we even address trust - arguably the most valuable commodity of all.

The Reuters Institute Digital News Report highlighted last year that “in a world increasingly populated by synthetic content and misinformation, all generations still prize trusted brands with a track record for accuracy, even if they don’t use them as often as they once did.”

Can we believe what we see on social media? Rarely without question. And when something does catch our attention, the instinctive next step is validation. X may be where breaking news appears first - but people quickly turn to the BBC to check whether it is nonsense or not*

(*Full transparency: AI changed this line. I’d written b****cks).

Most regular polls show that around 60% of the UK population trust the BBC. Channel 4, Sky and ITV follow closely, while The Guardian, the Financial Times, The Times and strong regional news brands typically hover around the 50% trust mark.

Ipsos data reinforces this. Television remains the most trusted source of news and information, with 79% of Britons placing a great deal or a fair amount of trust in it. Among 16–34-year-olds, that figure is still an impressive 76%. Trust in influencers, by contrast, remains low: only 31% of Britons trust online news from influencers and individuals, although this rises to 47% among younger audiences.

Meanwhile, three quarters of Britons say that fake news and misinformation are prevalent in online news. So where does this leave us?

I believe that we are heading towards a rejuvenated value in Earned - one that places renewed emphasis on established, mainstream media brands.

Yes, every media organisation operates within commercial realities, and no outlet is entirely agenda-free, but I would still back traditional mainstream media to be accurate and impartial (most of the time) — especially when compared with poorly regulated social platforms.

The BBC’s commitment to impartiality and ‘being trusted’ is, therefore, its greatest asset. It must protect this at all costs.

With AI systems increasingly weighting their outputs towards sources such as the BBC — alongside other established brands like Channel 4, the Financial Times and Sky — then those outlets have never been more relevant, influential, or necessary.

For brands, the implication is clear: earned media is no longer just about reputation — it is about relevance in an AI-mediated world.

ENDS

Run Communications / 17th February 2026.

This article was written by a human, improved by AI and then checked by another human.