The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the media industry has radically changed the skills sought by industry leaders. According to a recent report by Kantar, 72% of media executives say they need to reshape their organizations’ talent and skills to adapt to an ever-changing media landscape. This is leading to changes in recruiting practices, with 66% of respondents saying it is important to recruit from outside the media industry to meet these evolving needs.
“There has been a recognition… that they think they need to significantly reshape the skills in their organization,” said Gary Brown, head of brand communications at Kantar.
The Kantar Media study assessed results from 1,110 respondents across 53 markets. All respondents are involved in the media industry and have some level of engagement with data.
Skills, updates
Despite the buzz, AI ranks fairly low among skills sought by media professionals, with 27% of respondents saying it is a very important skill. This is in stark contrast to communication and storytelling skills, which 79% consider very important, more than any other skill, according to the study.
But that doesn’t tell the whole story. While demand for AI talent remains relatively low, it’s expected to continue to grow. Nearly 70% of respondents predict that AI skills will be very important in the next three years. Similar tech skills, such as managing large data sets, and data science skills overall are expected to follow a similar trajectory.
“What are the skills that are going to become more important over the next three years? That’s where we see a skills gap,” Brown said.
While AI skills are seen as an asset for new hires, many organizations are looking for AI skills internally. More than a quarter (26%) of respondents said they would like to develop their skills internally, while a further 14% would prefer to recruit talent internally. According to the report, only 23% of respondents would prefer to recruit AI talent externally. However, 32% of respondents indicated they preferred a combination of approaches.
Industry shake-up
The media industry appears to be in desperate need of change, with 90% of respondents saying they want to hire people who will challenge what companies do, while 66% believe it is important to recruit talent from outside the media industry, the report found.
The changing media landscape
90%
Industry leaders want to hire people who will challenge what they do
66%
I want to hire outside the media sector
Ultimately, the results confirm the industry’s desire for change, with a particular focus on diversifying and updating talent pools. Developing this talent goes beyond recruiting, with many respondents indicating that they plan to train it internally. Of those organizations that plan to develop their talent internally, 63% of respondents plan to do so through training. This is followed by online training, with 39% of respondents planning to implement this method.
“There’s no consensus on what organizations should do,” Brown said. “We see this as a way to start a conversation, right? We try to help diagnose the problems, but we don’t offer all the solutions because they vary depending on who you talk to.”
