Media Conference

The INMA World Congress of News Media is a celebration of the outstanding work put forward every day by the global INMA membership community. In this opening ceremony, get introduced to the big themes facing news media, the Washington World Congress, and the attendees in the Mead Center.

Pre-digital era companies are reinvigorating their strategic plans to capture the new opportunities of the digital world. Yet to do this, traditional businesses must re-think underlying assumptions about customers, competition, data, innovation, and value. In this presentation, learn how companies from Google to GE and Airbnb to The New York Times are harnessing customer networks, platforms, Big Data, rapid experimentation, and disruptive business models.

Legacy media need to put as much emphasis on transforming their organisations as they do transforming their content. That is the central theme of the recent Digital News Project by the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute. In this presentation, drill down into the practicalities of agility, journalism-tech culture, and evaluating “shiny new things” based on deep research into how the world’s leading media companies are transforming in the face of digital disruption.

Digest a morning of transformation talk by connecting with peers and industry suppliers over coffee, tea, and snacks.

Every news media company in the world is confronting some form of technological disruption’s reality: business models are shattering and legacy corporate cultures are ill-equipped to pick up the pieces. In this dynamic panel discussion by leaders of some of the world’s top news media companies, get a snapshot of value creation outside of traditional P&Ls, re-thinking group scale, international diversification, and what a taste of Silicon Valley can mean back home.

Going outside the lines of traditional advertiser and reader revenue are local, regional, and international pioneers who are moving into selling fiber optics, global events, and marketing consultancies. In this panel, get a snapshot of business models that defy tradition and may point the way for others.

As we shut down the strategy talk and pivot to digital subscriptions and reader retention, network with peers over a quick lunch.

Freemium digital subscription models are taking over in much of Europe and the South Pacific, while the metered model rules in North America. The Scandinavians are adopting hybrid freemium-metered models. In this session, leap into the minds of leaders in the digital subscription and membership space: What’s working, what’s not working, and what’s next: newspapers, magazines, and digital pure-plays.

Even the best in digital subscriptions struggle with retaining subscribers. Crucial to retention is engaging subscribers. In this session, go behind the scenes of three companies that are using newsletters, on-site alerts and messaging, and other tactics to make their news brand an invaluable experience.

Subscription is about pricing. Membership is a mindset. Media organisations that focus on building long-term relationships create members who are more engaged, connected and profitable. Master strategies used by organisations like LinkedIn, Amazon, and Netflix to create a community readers will want to belong to. In this closing to an afternoon dedicated to reader revenue, learn how the lessons from fast-evolving membership organisations can be applied to media companies.

Let INMA boil down the day's key takeaways in a quick wrap-up to aid your daily report back home.

Get your popcorn ready because you are in for a treat with the unveiling of the 2018 Global Media Awards. A quick intermission and wine infusion will be the perfect pivot.

Step into the Mead Center's theater-in-the-round to learn who the world's best are in growing audience, revenue, and brand. The awards ceremony promises to be fun and informative. Perhaps you and your company will take home some gold.

Toast the Global Media Awards winners with a cocktail reception immediately following the awards ceremony.

In this keynote address, walk the bridge from Nixon to Trump with Washington's foremost journalist who will touch on his view of the American presidency and the impact on journalism today. Having written books on eight of the last presidents, from Nixon to Obama, and currently working on a book about Trump, he is uniquely situated to examine key questions including: What exactly was Watergate? What are the five main wars of Watergate? What lessons did Republicans understand? What lessons did Republicans miss? Did Democrats understand and miss different lessons? How did Watergate define scandals such as Iran-contra and Whitewater? Is Trump equipped or capable of avoiding scandals? Is the power of the presidency, fully mobilized, able to thwart independent/special counsel investigations? What is the likely outcome?

Go behind the scenes with working journalists covering the Trump Administration to get a feel for the daily challenges of covering a non-traditional president with non-traditional views derived from non-traditional sources – and a press operation that supports him. Are there broader lessons to be learned beyond the United States?

How often do you get to interact with 400+ media executives from 40+ countries? Connect with peers and industry suppliers in the Networking Lounge. Bonus: Bob Woodward book signing for World Congress delegates.

As mobile moves from a device or connection to a behaviour, what emerges is a new approach to how media companies future-proof their efforts in this space. Beyond smartphones, we will dive into the cutting edge of what media companies and others are doing with voice recognition, Immersive Reality (IR), and location-based services.

The world is shifting to video consumption beyond TV in record numbers, yet consumption of news media-produced content is inconsistent. In this panel, learn about three strategies from three best-practice media companies in the video space.

A quick power lunch will take attendees across the finish line of the Media Conference.

Media companies don’t sell space anymore. They sell integrated solutions, creative services, consulting, and more in environments once thought unimaginable. In this panel, learn more about the rise of marketing services among innovators in the space.

Sitting at the intersection of news and technology, Google’s News Lab partners with media companies and start-ups to drive innovation in the news industry around the world. In this address, learn more about identifying trustworthy content, combating misinformation, empowering under-represented voices, and strengthening local news.

Let INMA help you with the report back home with this quick wrap-up of the big themes derived from the INMA World Congress of News Media.

Distilling feedback from INMA’s nearly 9,000 members from 65 countries and a week of programming, where is news media heading next? In this closing keynote, learn the emerging priorities for news media companies: strategy, trends, and the benchmarks you need to plot your next step.

Wrap up the programme for the INMA World Congress of News Media with a note of thanks and what’s next for INMA.