INMA announces finalists for 2025 Global Media Awards

By Dawn McMullan

INMA

Dallas, Texas, USA

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INMA today announced 199 finalists in the 2025 INMA Global Media Awards. At the heart of the shortlist were themes around the use of AI in newsroom innovation and subscriptions, uncovering facts and truth, promoting the public good campaigns, reaching next-generation readers, sports, health, and user engagement.

INMA garnered 839 entries from 286 news media brands in 49 countries, with finalists hailing from Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and South Asia.

Companies that dominated the INMA finalists list include Amedia, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Mediahuis, News Corp, Ringier, Russmedia, SPH Media, Stuff, Schibsted, and Stampen. Leading the finalist list were entries from India (22), Norway (21), United States (20), Germany (17), Sweden (15), Australia (10), and Brazil (9).

In its 88th year of rewarding excellence in the news media industry, the 2025 INMA Global Media Awards include 20 categories across two segments — national/international and regional. The categories focus on excellence in news brands, media features, product, subscriptions, advertising and commerce, newsrooms, and AI. 

This year's Global Media Awards includes a new category: best initiative to bolster next-generation readership.
This year's Global Media Awards includes a new category: best initiative to bolster next-generation readership.

One first place, second place, and third place will be awarded for each of the 20 categories within each segment. In some cases, judges may omit awards or advise additional awards. 

First-place winners, regional winners, and the global Best In Show will be announced May 22 at the Edison Ballroom in New York, as the culmination of the INMA World Congress of News Media being held May 19-23.

“The Global Media Awards are an unparalleled showcase of groundbreaking insights and experiments, illuminating the path the news industry is taking to captivate new audiences while keeping them both informed and inspired,” INMA CEO/Executive Director Earl J. Wilkinson said.

“This years awards entries reveal where our news media network is heading — pioneering strategies to position their news brands, engage diverse audiences, and continuously innovate the ways they connect — all while staying true to the heart of their brands and the communities they serve. INMA is incredibly proud of the exceptional 2025 finalists and eagerly awaits celebrating the winners this May in New York.”

Some 60 media experts from 26 countries judged the entries in February, evaluating on breakthrough results, unique concepts, strong creativity, innovative thinking, and winning synergies across platforms.

The 839 entries in this year’s Global Media Awards competition are live on INMA.org in the association’s Best Practices archive. Finalists may be viewed publicly, while all other entries are reserved exclusively for INMA members. 

INMA has 9,600+ “best practices” from the past decade of Global Media Awards competitions, sortable to finalists and winners, category, year, and country.

About INMA

The International News Media Association (INMA) is a global community of market-leading news media companies reinventing how they engage audiences and grow revenue. The INMA community consists of 22,000+ members at 1,000+ news media companies in 90+ countries. INMA is the news media industry’s foremost ideas-sharing network with members connected via conferences, reports, Webinars, virtual meetings, an unparalleled archive of best practices, and strategic initiatives focused on digital subscriptions, product and tech, generative AI, newsroom transformation, and the publisher relationships with Big Tech. 

Global Media Awards finalists

Editor’s note: Finalists below are listed alphabetically. Click on the campaign name to view the complete entry. These entries are open to the public through May 25.

Category 1: Best Brand Awareness Campaign

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 2: Best Public Relations or Community Service Campaign

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 3: Best Use of an Event to Build a News Brand

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 4: Best Idea to Encourage Reader Engagement

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 5: Best Initiative to Bolster Next-Generation Readership

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 6: Best New Video Product or Feature

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 7: Best New Audio/Voice Product or Feature

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 8: Best Use of Print

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 9: Best Use of Social Media

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 10: Best New Digital Product

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 11: Best Product Iteration

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 12: Best Initiative to Grow Subscriptions

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 13: Best Initiative to Engage and Retain Subscribers

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 14: Best Idea to Grow Advertising Sales

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 15: Most Creative Use of Advertising Formats

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 16: Best Commerce Product or Service

Regional Brands

(The jury selected only four finalists in this category group.)

National Brands

Category 17: Best Use of AI for Internal Productivity

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 18: Best Use of AI in Customer-Facing Products

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 19: Best Innovation in Newsroom Transformation

Regional Brands

National Brands

Category 20: Best Use of Visual Journalism and Storytelling Tools

Regional Brands

National Brands

Winners in the INMA Global Media Awards competition will be announced during the World Congress of News Media in New York on Thursday, May 22.

About Dawn McMullan

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