BusinessWorld at 36: At the forefront of changing business realities

By Bjorn Biel M. Beltran, Special Features and Content Assistant Editor

IT WOULD not be too much of an overstatement to say that the state of the journalism and media industry is in complete upheaval.

Over the past decade alone, serious issues such as the changing preferences of audiences, the proliferation of misinformation on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and now the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) large language models like ChatGPT replacing man-made content generation, are challenging the foundations of the industry itself.

“Technology and the speed at which it is advancing is definitely reshaping the business landscape in all parts of the globe. Everything, as you know, is moving too fast,” Miguel G. Belmonte, president and CEO of The Philippine Star and BusinessWorld, said in an interview.

“Speaking in the context of media, technology is helping us in many ways on the one hand but it is also making aspects of our business more challenging on the other. It’s really a double-edged sword and it depends now how companies can harness the advantages to benefit their businesses in the long term.”

Mr. Belmonte noted that the emergence of ChatGPT and other generative large language models have been “real game-changers” with regard to how it can affect journalism and media moving forward.

“With AI and Web 3.0, things will get a bit more complex again, but that’s the world we live in right now, and businesses really have to be agile and to adapt to these evolutions.”

In fact, the World Economic Forum early this year outlined the risks of such technologies such as their ability to generate false and misleading content, to displace workers like writers and artists, or even to create a flood of fake news and disinformation across platforms and ecosystems.

“These are major changes, not only for media. I think this will affect all industries across the board. But we can only speak for ourselves. There are already changes we are seeing today, and there will be more,” he said.

BusinessWorld, when it was founded as Business Day in 1967, was Southeast Asia’s first business daily. It was founded on the promise of providing “competent and responsible reporting of the news” under Raul L. Locsin, who served as its first president and editor-in-chief.

Business Day has established itself as a leader in professional economic journalism in the Philippines and has established a tradition of excellence that continues to this day.

The paper celebrates its 36th year since its reformation under its new name in July 1987. With the ever-growing threats to truthful and responsible journalism, BusinessWorld now represents more than five decades of commitment to that vision, guided by Mr. Locsin’s ever-enduring belief that “A Newspaper is a Public Trust.”

Mr. Belmonte — who took the helm since the paper was acquired by MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. in 2015 through the Philstar Media Group — is confident that holding fast to these core values will see the newspaper to even higher strengths in spite of all the challenges. “It’s gotten more challenging, no doubt, what with having to bridge generational shifts and mindsets and even expertise since the younger generation are definitely more digital-savvy, but I would say that leadership style and qualities will remain the same regardless of how businesses evolve,” he said.

“Nowadays, change management is very critical; we need to ensure that people are coping with the pace of change so that it does not overwhelm anyone. Leaders also need to step back and listen more to ensure that the young ones are heard and that they have a stake in how the business is run.”

CHAMPIONING BUSINESS JOURNALISM AMID INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONWilfredo G. Reyes, BusinessWorld’s editor-in-chief, previously noted that every challenge that emerges is an opportunity to not only improve, but become more in tune with the readers that the paper is trying to serve.

“How such challenges will affect the way we do things is something all of us in the company will have to discern and agree on as we beat the path ahead. There will always be a need for verified, accurate information, especially during emergencies and crises — more so for BusinessWorld’s public — but the question is in the form and mode of delivery,” he had said.

“People have been saying since at least the early 2000s that ‘print is dead’. I think that every medium has its use and it is up to us to find out what that is amid changing needs and preferences, and how to maximize each platform.”

Mr. Reyes further noted that past challenges like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic opened a door for BusinessWorld to explore and fully commit to digital initiatives.

“Digital initiatives have been accounting for more of our products and revenues; that I now always refer to BusinessWorld more generally as a publication, rather than just a newspaper,” he said.

“If anything, this crisis has shown that, more than specific actions, we have the right mindset [to begin with] and processes to promptly tap emerging opportunities when and however they come.”

Cathy Rose A. Garcia, BusinessWorld’s managing editor, echoed the sentiment, noting in an interview that “the COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant changes to the business environment not just in the Philippines but around the world. Companies have had to rethink their business models and implement changes to ensure their survival.”

“News organizations have to fully embrace digital in order to meet the evolving expectations of the audience. BusinessWorld has adapted to this changing media landscape by expanding into multimedia news, podcasts, videos, as well as organizing webinars and economic forums,” she added.

She also noted that journalists also have to prepare for the next wave of disruption with the growing popularity of artificial intelligence technologies.

Companies are still facing many challenges as well, such as those of an economic slowdown, elevated inflation, high interest rates, supply chain disruptions, accelerated digital transformation, cybersecurity, sustainability and job-skills mismatch.

Ms. Garcia believes that organizations like BusinessWorld play a vital role in chronicling such issues and in “raising the public trust and preventing the spread of disinformation.”

“Public-service oriented media organizations should be instrumental in upholding standards for objectivity, fact-finding, reasonable arguments and ethics,” she said.

Mr. Belmonte holds firm that, even beset by challenges itself, it is still BusinessWorld’s responsibility to inform and educate the general public about issues posing risks to the Philippine business community.

“Whether we welcome it or now, change will affect industries across the board. It is inevitable, and no one is exempt from it. We have seen how the pace of change accelerated in the past two decades, and how it impacted the fortunes of companies and economies all over the world,” he said.

“For us at BusinessWorld, the only thing that is certain is that we will continue to invest in quality business journalism, which is the foundation of our company and has been our hallmark for decades. This is our way of taking to heart our responsibility to readers who consider us their most credible source of news and trends on business and the economy,” Mr. Belmonte added.

“By going back to our core values, best described by the overall principle that what we do here is a public trust. That informs all of our initiatives and efforts, and everything else flows from that conviction. One can think of a whole list of initiatives we can explore — of which there are many, to be sure — but forget that foundation and you are lost,” Mr. Reyes had said.

FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTHAll things considered, BusinessWorld has emerged from the devastation caused by COVID-19 better than most. For PhilStar Media Group Executive Vice-President Lucien C. Dy Tioco, BusinessWorld greatly benefits from the reputation and respect it has garnered as a news organization for the past 36 years.

He cited the brand’s line of conferences and fora, such as the BusinessWorld Economic Forum and BusinessWorld Insights, which “provides a sharp lens to the issues and insights from our editorial expertise and its clout of influence” within the Philippine business landscape.

Mr. Reyes noted that it is this close proximity with the Philippine business community that has a symbiotic relationship with its growth.

“Constantly keeping in close contact with our market dictates BusinessWorld’s evolution as a platform for business content. So, this has lately been an increasingly fluid situation for us and that’s good, because it keeps us on our toes,” he had said.

“It has been quite a struggle to preserve core values through a fast-changing environment, but I think we have been doing just that and every challenge we have faced has made us more flexible, stronger and more relevant.”

As such, Mr. Dy Tioco said that it is BusinessWorld’s prerogative to stay on top of the latest trends and issues in the community.

“BusinessWorld continues to trailblaze into the future of business because of its unmatched acumen on how business behaves and the forces that impact its nature. That’s why this early we are already introducing the content subscription market with BWorldX and the soon to be launched Top 1000 Premium,” he said.

As for the future, Mr. Belmonte is not worried as much.

“I’m very happy with the progress BusinessWorld has made, and I’m especially proud that we have managed to outdo even other established media companies. Although we remain focused on our core business, which is publishing, we’ve been quite successful in leveraging on the strong brand of BusinessWorld to expand into events, business analysis and insight, as well as other multimedia efforts that amplify our strength as the country’s leading business title,” he said.

BusinessWorld has transformed into a fully multimedia company, and Mr. Belmonte is optimistic that the company can overcome the challenges that seem to beset the industry.

“Considering how we managed to weather one crisis after another, especially the pandemic which brought so many companies to their knees, I am confident that BusinessWorld will continue to be forward-thinking and innovative in dealing with whatever challenges may come in the future,” he concluded.