2026: Riding the Fire Horse of innovation

If the Chinese New Year is a predictor, 2026 will be a year of remarkable change for the newspaper industry. Some even say it is written in the stars.

By Leonard Woolsey, past TPA president

“This is going to be an amazing year,” a friend and fellow publisher said. “2026 is the rare Chinese year of the Fire Horse.”

My friend is a good-natured, upbeat person, always looking for reasons and ways to succeed — even if that means occasionally looking to the heavens. “Fire Horse is going to be a rare year — one every 60 years — combining two incredibly powerful forces into one for a year of rebirth, shedding old ways, and discovering growth.”

I have to say that as a newspaper professional, I like the sound of that.

If ever our industry needed the wind at our back and a boost of energetic rebirth, now is the time. With shifts in consumer behavior, evolving advertising tools and the ongoing challenge of public trust, we have a lot of work to do. If looking to the stars for inspiration is what helps, then so be it.

How do we ride this symbolic Fire Horse to success in 2026? Reportedly, the Fire Horse brings unstoppable energy. The element of fire enhances the horse’s natural strength, creating a sense of boldness, purpose and action, as well as an unwavering drive for progress. The result is the ability to shed the old habits holding us back, break free of limitations and embrace a spirit of true innovation.

So, how do we apply Fire Horse principles to our challenges? Where do we need the courage and drive to reinvent ourselves?

For me, I see Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the mount we must learn to ride. It’s rightly defined as both a threat and an opportunity for our industry and many others. And the world is self-selecting into two groups: those who are open to learning and embracing productivity-enhancing tools, and those who avoid exploring and integrating them into their workflows.

Those more comfortable with the old “we’ve always done it this way” approach will find themselves eating competitors’ dust — and potentially flaming out on the field of play.

AI is now baked into nearly everything — except, perhaps, the chocolate-chip cookies you added to your Americano order this morning.

Today’s AI moment is, as another friend described it, a technological watershed moment similar to 1995 — the year the internet’s way of doing business took hold. Rarely is there such a clear delineation in productivity, but AI is unquestionably the next transformative milestone. It isn’t just a new way to write a headline; it’s a fundamental shift in how we manage data, target advertising and streamline our entire operational back-end.

As AI enters the arena, we must become educated and comfortable with this moment in time — the one where everything changes, whether we like it or not. AI is not a logo affixed to a package or a cutesy marketing term, but rather an entirely new way of conducting business, large and small. It is not a fad; it is a tidal wave of epic proportions.

Back to our Fire Horse year: Our industry faces significant hurdles, from rebuilding public trust to navigating fickle consumer and advertiser behaviors. But if we hesitate to jump on the Fire Horse of 2026 — failing to reinvent our products, our processes and our mindset — we threaten our likelihood of successfully striding into the future.

Make 2026 your best year ever. The stars have aligned to give us the spark; it’s up to us to provide the fuel.

Leonard Woolsey is president of Southern Newspapers, Inc., past president of Texas Press Association and immediate past chairman of America’s Newspapers.