The Digital Media Awards South Asia 2025 ceremony also took place during the event, and The Hindu Group was named Champion Publisher.

From editorial revival to revenue reinvention

The conference opened with a keynote by Alan Hunter and Michael Brunt, co-founders of HBM Advisory (UK) and members of the WAN-IFRA Expert Panel, who urged publishers to clearly define their mission and utilise AI as a strategic accelerator.

“Everyone in your organisation, from interns to the editor-in-chief, should know why you exist, who you serve, and what value you provide,” said Hunter. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink not just how you work but what you do,” added Brunt.

Day 1 sessions focused on AI-driven workflows, subscriptions, editorial reinvention, and audience engagement. Speakers included leaders from The Hindu, BBC, The Wire, Le Monde, and Jagran New Media.

A standout roundtable featured Mariam Mammen Mathew (CEO, Manorama Online), Pradeep Gairola (VP & Business Head – Digital, The Hindu Group), and Krishnamurthy Ramasubbu (Associate Editor, Dinamalar), discussing strategies for sustainable digital growth.

“Editorial has become a side game in news organisations focused on a minimum viable product. But without a great editorial product, there’s no way a newsroom can survive,” said Gairola.

“We’ve run after traffic, not value. Sustainable revenue needs more than just advertising,” noted Mathew. “Digital-only models aren’t viable at scale unless they’re niche,” Ramasubbu commented.

Privacy, principles, and product thinking drive Day 2

Day 2 spotlighted ethical innovation and user-first design. Speakers from BBC Collective Newsroom, The Quint, Manorama, Deutsche Welle, HT Labs, and others shared insights on building data-smart, accessible products.

Chitranshu Tewari (Director, Product & Revenue, Newslaundry) led a practical session on creating resilient independent media.

“Our app puts users at the centre – from profile deletion and subscription cancellation to granular notification control,” he said.

Celebrating digital innovation in South Asia

The Digital Media Awards South Asia 2025 received over 110 entries across multiple categories. Winners included The BBC, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, The Quint, Sakal, and The Indian Express.

The awards recognised excellence in areas such as data visualisation, AI integration, newsletters, and reader revenue strategies.

More about Digital Media India 2025

Full programme details are available here. See pictures from the event on Flickr.

More information from the conference can be found on Twitter with the hashtag #DMI2025. For a calendar of upcoming WAN-IFRA events, please visit events.wan-ifra.org.

Contact and Inquiries

For more information, Magdoom Mohamed, Managing Director, WAN-IFRA South Asia, Chennai, India (magdoom.mohamed@wan-ifra.org) or Thai Anban, Business Development Manager, WAN-IFRA South Asia, Chennai, India (thai.anban@wan-ifra.org).

About

WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, is the global organisation of the world’s press, comprising 3,000 news publishers and technology companies and 40 national publishers’ associations representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries.

With a mission to protect the rights of journalists and publishers around the world to operate independent media, WAN-IFRA provides its members with expertise and services to innovate and prosper in a digital world and perform their crucial role in society. The World Editors Forum is its network for editors. wan-ifra.org