Although print has been surprisingly resilient in some parts of Asia, the region is now experiencing the full force of digital transition, with specialist online outlets springing up in line with local preferences for news consumption. At the same time, editors in several countries must reckon with rising geopolitical tensions, and fresh efforts by governments with authoritarian tendencies to control the news. In this panel, editors from some of Asia's principal news organisations will discuss how they are handling these challenges.
In 2021, Australian lawmakers passed landmark rules forcing platforms to pay publishers for news content, prompting similar initiatives to be tabled in Canada and Europe, and potentially the UK.
Have tech giants improved terms for news providers, or are new laws needed?
Is it only large publishers that stand to benefit from payments? What can smaller organisations do to ensure they are included?
Which regulators are overseeing new policies, and how can they best work together – across sectors, countries and regions?
The TV news business has expanded across platforms, timeframes and markets, bringing it into competition with new rivals amid an explosion of digital content. Which content is proving most successful with fickle audiences, how are brands making money, and what are the future growth areas?
On both sides of the Atlantic, the top news brands emerged from the pandemic ahead on their digitisation objectives.
- How are CEOs harnessing these gains to ensure continued growth across core and new business lines?
- Which types of products, technology and talent will be prioritised in the years ahead?
- How are news organisations adjusting operations to cater for different audience segments?
- Which platforms and emerging technologies are drawing in younger audiences?
- How are news organisations responding to the resurgence of inflation?
- How prepared are they for an extended global economic slowdown as the impact of the war in Ukraine bites?
- What other key challenges loom on the horizon?
State-funded news organisations are facing increasing pressures from politicians, audiences and big global platforms.
- What is the biggest threat to public service broadcasting: fierce competition or hostile governments?
- Can these organisations hold the centre ground in an increasingly polarised political environment, and is there still demand for that among audiences and journalists?
- Can they innovate quickly enough to compete? Which public service broadcasters are leading the way in innovating to generate more revenue?
- Are public service broadcasters overextended and stifling commercial news models, or a friend to the private sector?
With a deep focus on subscriptions, the largest media groups have overcome a slump in advertising, while investing in talent and technology.
- To what extent have new formats such as audio, newsletters and events boosted revenue?
- What are the best price points to draw in future subscribers?
- What can legacy businesses and start-ups learn from each other?
- Are financing conditions supportive to continued increases in investment?
- In the current environment, is it more effective to expand organically or search for acquisitions that can add to the bottom line?
Pedigreed journalists from blue chip news brands have moved beyond digital native titles and Substack to front well-financed new ventures.
- What is drawing journalists back to start-ups, and what do investors hope to achieve?
- Will more agile outfits be better able to harness new technologies, and the industry’s brightest talent?
- Could creators move towards decentralised news, or will audiences continue to prefer some form of expert gatekeeping?
Digital outlets focused on local news, many of them independent, are finding new ways to serve their communities’ information needs. But can they survive in the long term? How can they fill the gap left by traditional titles that have foundered in recent years due to cost-cutting, lack of innovation and difficult economic conditions?
What are the most promising local initiatives that media organisations, technology platforms and investors are backing?
What role are startups playing in the local news ecosystem?
How are they securing the infrastructure, training and funding they need to grow?
What are the most effective revenue models to support digital local news?
Are local news newsrooms securing the talent they need to flourish?
How can journalists better serve diverse communities?
