The 13th annual International News Media Association’s (INMA) South Asia Media Festival will be held from 18 to 22 November 2019 in New Delhi. The theme for this year is `What matters most now – How to win in a world of unprecedented competition and disruptive changes.’ At the festival, delegates will gain insights and a forward-looking perspective into the unique strategies and best practices of the South Asian news media industry, initially over two days of a study tour on 18 and 19 November, seminars on 20 November and concluding with two days of the conference on 21 and 22 November.
The festival will begin with a study tour, entailing a diverse two-day exploration of the Delhi/NCR media market. The study tour visits to offices of The Indian Express, Facebook, Hindustan Times Media, Times Internet, Google, and StoryXpress will help provide expert industry perspectives on brand explorations, news media organizations and digital start-ups with an eye for disruption, innovation and growth opportunities.
Participants will learn how news media players have grown sustainable digital businesses without any capital burn. They will further understand the experiences of the digital transformation story in a legacy print media company. They will view the unlocking of the next layer of growth with subscription businesses. They will also have an opportunity to examine how to build content experiences for digital Indians. And, they will be exposed to the latest tools for the newsroom while gaining industry insights into content automation for new-age digital consumers with the role artificial intelligence plays for the digital age.
For practitioners seeking perspectives into consumers and advertiser subject matters, INMA is offering two half-day seminars the day after the study tours conclude. On 20 November, the morning seminar will focus on understanding the consumer ecosystem with two distinct sessions focusing on understanding the impact of socio-cultural patterns on news content consumption and mobile and video journalism driving a culture change. Presentations will be made by Twitter, Facebook, MullenLowe Lintas Group, NDTV 24×7, ABP, and HT Media.
The afternoon seminar will assess the evolving story for news media advertising and harnessing technology to its potential with discussions on native advertising and spearheading change via technology. Presentations will be made by Comscore, Quintype technologies, Adobe, Times of India, and Jagran Prakashan.
The two-day conference begins on the morning of 21 November and concludes on 22 November. Here, attendees will dive deep into the issues faced by the news media industry and hear about the innovative and tangible remedies put forward by industry influencers. They will witness the unraveling of prospective models that are increasing the effectiveness of the print industry. They will understand with clarity the path to digital content monetization and digital subscriptions. They will have the opportunity to explore closely newsroom transformation and integration and how best to harness technology and training and what is next.
Shailesh Prakash, chief information officer and vice president of Digital Product Development of the Washington Post, will address the audience on ‘News Media Today – The perfect storm or the perfect opportunity’. Andy Brown, chief executive officer and chairman, Kantar Media will talk about `What do brands want now’ and Earl J Wilkinson, executive director and chief executive officer, INMA will present `News Media Outlook 2019 – What’s over the horizon for publishers in South Asia.’
