Where publishers should be heading in 2026: the HERO framework

Hero Framework, The Audiencers Hero Framework, The Audiencers
© Illustration by Aurélie Garnier

For a long time in the media industry, the end goal has been publication. The product is the destination. We worked backward from a deadline.

Our relationship with our audiences was driven by a constant search for growth. More readers, more subscriptions, more impressions. We see them as a mass, not as individuals. It’s a fundamentally one-way communication with a focus on form over function.

But today we work in a world where we’re no longer competing against each other but against the external force that is AI. And AI is a master of the print mindset. 

If our only value is publication and growth, we will lose. 

The way to survive isn’t to out-compete AI at its own game. The way to survive is to lean into what AI cannot do:

Build real, purposeful human relationships.

In this new structure, the goal is impact, the focus is on long-term impact and we measure value over volume, seeking to build belonging through meaningful interactions.