2025 has been THE year for media’s existential reckoning. We’ve watched publishers and AI companies move from courtroom battles to licensing deals worth billions. Traditional outlets scrambled to launch paywalls as clicks rapidly move towards zero while launching newsletters, podcasts, and TikTok channels in the same breath. Thanks to Substack, solo journalists started outearning entire newsrooms. Star reporters became bigger brands than the mastheads they write for, because people trust people, and are moving away from older institutions.
Meanwhile, PRs and marketers are having their own crisis: GEO is the new SEO, AI search is rewriting the discovery game, and earned media means something completely different when ChatGPT decides what’s credible. For some, PR is now king. For others, this is pure hype.
The media has never been this meta, constantly analyzing its own business model while that model burns down around it. Legacy giants are getting eaten alive by nimble startups and creator-journalists who need nothing but a laptop and a Stripe account. We’re watching an entire industry transform in real time, and nobody knows what comes next.
That’s why Web Summit’s media track hits different this year. It’s not just “the future of” media and journalism. These speakers are navigating the chaos… right now!
We’ve picked nine talks to check out at Web Summit to keep up with the inflection point we’re seeing in the media, as AI transforms it and many other industries.
1. Truth in the Age of Propaganda and Polarisation
The unmissable heavyweight bout: A.G. Sulzberger and Katherine Maher on defending journalism when half your audience thinks you’re the enemy. This isn’t another “misinformation bad” panel. It’s about what newsrooms actually do when trust hits rock bottom. Expect candid discussion about the Times’ controversial coverage decisions and NPR’s fight to stay relevant when public media itself is under attack.
Format: Fireside
Speakers: A.G. Sulzberger (The New York Times), Katherine Maher (NPR)
Day and time: Tuesday, 11 November, 10:20–10:40 AM
Track: Media
2. Scroll, Click, Repeat
How do you make people stop scrolling for actual news? Leaders from The Independent, The Economist, The Guardian, and Süddeutsche Zeitung share what’s working. Spoiler: it’s not just shorter articles and more videos. They’re experimenting with everything from AI-powered personalization to old-school newsletter strategies, and some of it is actually working.
Format: Panel
Speakers: Christian Broughton (The Independent), Luke Bradley-Jones (The Economist), Anna Bateson (The Guardian), Judith Wittwer (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Day and time: Tuesday, 11 November, 10:50–11:10 AM
Track: New Media Summit
Stage: Stage 3
3. Breaking Newsroom Barriers
Three women running major newsrooms on what changes when leadership stops being a boys’ club. Expect real talk on diversity translating to smarter coverage, not just better optics. These aren’t diversity hires with talking points; they’re editors-in-chief who’ve transformed their newsrooms’ culture and coverage while dealing with the inevitable backlash.
Format: Panel
Speakers: Aja Whitaker-Moore (Axios), Laura Williamson (The Athletic), Katie Drummond (WIRED), Alexandra Steigrad (New York Post)
Day and time: Tuesday, 11 November, 3:00–3:25 PM
Track: New Media Summit
Stage: Stage 3
4. The Next Wave of Media
The creators eating traditional media’s lunch. They’re building news brands on Instagram and TikTok first, websites maybe never. Traditional outlets should take notes. These founders have millions of followers, venture backing, and zero reverence for how journalism “should” work. They’re not the future; they’re the present.
Format: Panel
Speakers: Ahmed Faid (Dose of Society), Ramin Beheshti (Caliber), Lucy Blakiston (Shit You Should Care About), Dave Jorgenson (Local News International)
Day and time: Tuesday, 11 November, 3:25–3:50 PM
Track: New Media Summit
Stage: Stage 3
5. Reinventing Media Across the Water
Hollywood Reporter meets Le Monde. US flash meets European substance. What promises to be a fascinating culture clash on storytelling approaches. The Americans chase engagement metrics while the Europeans protect editorial independence, but both are bleeding subscribers. Maybe they can learn something from each other.
Format: Super Fireside
Speakers: Maer Roshan (The Hollywood Reporter), Louis Dreyfus (Le Monde), Jasmine Taylor Coleman (BBC News)
Day and time: Tuesday, 11 November, 12:10–12:30 PM
Track: New Media Summit
Stage: Stage 3
6. Who Runs the News Now?
CEOs from TIME, The Independent, and The New York Times on the brutal economics of modern journalism. The subtext: how to stay alive when Meta and Google own the pipes. They’ll discuss everything from AI licensing deals to subscription fatigue, and whether anyone’s actually making money anymore.
Format: Super Fireside
Speakers: Jessica Sibley (TIME), Christian Broughton (The Independent), Katie Robertson (The New York Times)
Day and time: Tuesday, 11 November, 12:20–12:40 PM
Track: Media
Stage: Centre Stage
7. Facts Under Fire
Journalists from conflict zones and political powder kegs on reporting when governments call facts “fake news” and fake news gets called facts. These aren’t talking heads debating theory; they’re reporters who’ve been arrested, threatened, and censored for doing their jobs. Their insights on navigating information warfare are hard-earned.
Format: Panel
Speakers: Andrew Fishman (The Intercept Brasil), Manuela Kasper-Claridge (Deutsche Welle), Luc Chénier (Kyiv Post), Pedro Santos Guerreiro (CNN Portugal)
Day and time: Tuesday, 11 November, 2:05–2:30 PM
Track: Government Summit
Stage: Stage 13
8. Airwaves of Influence
Broadcast isn’t dead, it just matters differently. Sky News, ITN, and Euronews on why TV still owns crisis moments, even in the TikTok age. When wars break out or elections shock the world, people still turn to television. These executives explain how they’re leveraging that trust while building for a streaming future.
Format: Panel
Speakers: David Rhodes (Sky News), Rachel Corp (ITN), Pedro Vargas David (Euronews), Dominic Ponsford (Press Gazette)
Day and time: Tuesday, 11 November, 2:35–3:00 PM
Track: New Media Summit
Stage: Stage 3
9. Redefining Debate: How Emerging Media Challenges the Status Quo
UnHerd, liber-net, and The Blind Spot are building media for people exhausted by both mainstream sanitization and Twitter rage. This is about finding the space between NPR tote bags and conspiracy Telegram channels. They’re proving there’s an audience for complexity, nuance, and actual disagreement without descending into chaos.
Format: Super Fireside
Speakers: Andrew Lowenthal (liber-net), Freddie Sayers (UnHerd), Izabella Kaminska (The Blind Spot)
Day and time: Tuesday, 11 November, 4:10–4:30 PM
Track: New Media Summit
Stage: Stage 3
See you there!
These nine talks capture media’s most pivotal moment yet: legacy outlets reinventing themselves in real-time, creators building media empires from their phones, and everyone racing to define what journalism means when AI can write and audiences can fact-check in seconds. Web Summit brought together the people actually figuring this out.
JJ and Mauro will be roaming the halls, probably overcaffeinated. Hit us up if you spot us.
