Asia-Pacific’s largest and foremost regional news media industry event
Register HereCourse Introduction
In today’s face-paced media landscape, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for success. This masterclass is designed to empower participants with the skills, insights and strategies necessary to navigate media transformation and drive innovation. Through a combination of thought-provoking discussion, hands-on exercises and real-world case studies, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of how to lead their teams towards sustained audience growth and innovation.
Participants will learn how to be ambassadors in the media transformation. They will examine leadership skills, get tools to organize their work and teams to strengthen innovation and audience growth. More outlines will be will be updated. Watch this space.
Trainers
– Veslemøy Østrem – Editor-in-Chief, Altinget Norway
– Erik Sønstelie – Head of Investigative Journalism, Editorial Learning and Development, Amedia, Norway
Who Should Attend
Managing editors, editors, newsroom leaders, content strategists, digital transformation teams responsible for driving digital transformation initiatives and leaders looking to understand and implement user-centric approaches to newsroom management.
Course Fee
Book with conference SGD 450
Book without conference SGD 600
Join delegates in the heart of Kuala Lumpur for an enjoyable and relaxing evening before the conference. Connect with colleagues from the news media industry from around the world, swap ideas and share views. Traders Hotel is located within the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) complex and adjacent to Suria KLCC mall and the Bukit Bintang shopping district.
This event is free to attend for all registered delegates upon presentation of your delegate’s pass. We will be providing one-way transport from our conference hotel, Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara to the Traders Hotel.
Drinks and canapés will be served.
Dress code: Casual
Audience First, Digital First News Organisations
Keynote speeches and presentations from CEOs from different continents sharing their business models, strategies and formula for building a modern news publishing company. They will share how their organisations have evolved to become digital first and audience first and what it means and how it has impacted their organisations in their search for profitability. They will talk about what they have learned during their transformation journey and impart their words of wisdom.
The Spinoff is an award-winning digital native publication that focuses on vibrant, modern coverage of current affairs and pop culture in New Zealand. Founder Duncan Greive will explain the media brand’s origin story, detail its unique business model and talk about the way a focus on constant evolution has helped The Spinoff stay ahead of the game.
Media Prima is the leading media conglomerate in Malaysia, with a diverse portfolio that includes major television stations, pure digital media companies, and newspapers. Sam, the CEO of REV Media Group, Media Prima’s digital company and a key member of its leadership team, will discuss Media Prima’s transformation into digital with a focus on its audiences and its impact on the conglomerate’s businesses.
Amedia was a traditional print company and experienced a dramatic fall in audience in the years leading to 2014. Drastic action had to be taken. Erik Sønstelie, Editor in chief and CEO, Oppland Arbeiderblad A/S (part of Amedia group), will take us through Amedia’s journey to recovery, and also show how they made the strategy succeed at a company-level.
With the quick changing media landscape, innovation is a must in news organisations. Experts and practitioners discuss how to encourage and embrace innovation in media companies, and how to set-up a framework that drives continuous innovation that creates new products to meet an increasingly demanding audience and their evolving preferences.
Veslemøy Østrem, Editor-in-Chief of the Norwegian start-up newspaper Altinget, brings over two decades of leadership experience in Norwegian News Organisations. She offers valuable insights into navigating the evolving landscape of news media, where the roadmap changes every month
Shea will discuss how the South China Morning Post embraces innovation in its newsroom and how this leads to more compelling news coverage and products that leads to better reader engagement.
Many news publishers are keenly aware that the young adult segment of the market is the key to their future success. Cracking the code that unlocks revenue from new generation of readers is seen as the key to future success in the news publishing industry. Listen to what publishers who have set themselves on the road to gaining a share of attention from young readers have to say about how they do it.
Danuta will present the report “How Publishers Can Grow With Today’s Youth” which she co-authored with Liesbeth Nizet. Published in September 2023, this report supports media professionals by exploring successful strategies from industries known for effectively engaging young audiences. It addresses key challenges for publishers, identifies crucial macro trends shaping today’s societies, the lifestyle of the youth in particular, and analyzes product development and communication strategies of today’s hottest digital brands.
“This report starts from a genuine belief that publishers can turn youngsters into loyal and paying users. It was prepared out of respect for, and true fascination with, new generations” (the authors)
IDN Times is one of the success stories in the Southeast Asia region in attracting Millennials and GenZs. Diba will talk about how it leverages off this success to make itself a sustainable media company. She will also share how it is creating additional revenue streams from its young audience through music and movies.
The Daily Aus is the fastest-growing youth news outlet in Australia, with over half a million followers on Instagram, 200,000 newsletter subscribers and successful TikTok, podcast and video channels. 80% of their audience is under 35, and 70% say TDA is their primary source of news. Sam will talk about the multi-platform business model they’ve built to leverage their audience, how they approach capital raising and what revenue stream they’re pursuing next.
Speakers will talk about the potential of data and analytics which is essential to enable better decision making in modern news companies. How to create a proper data structure to accomplish this will also be presented.
Future-Proofing Your Content: How AI and Data Can Help Navigate the Changing Media Landscape.
This presentation will cover how AI and Data can be used to innovate and produce content using AI powered workflow. The speaker will include some real life use cases from REV Media and other key areas where digital publishers can use AI
Kuan Pern will outline the work SPH Media has done to reorganise and rebuild its data infrastructure so that it can help them with their initiatives related to audience and newsrooms, especially around GenAI, personalisation, recommendations, and much more.
As a 25-year-old digital news site, Malaysiakini understood the power of data very early on. We will share how we have used data to grow our audience and revenue in recent years, as well as the challenges, failures, and successes we have faced along the way.
Product thinking is a relatively new concept but something that is a necessity in today’s newsroom. It shifts the approach when creating content from “we know best” to better understand what the audience wants or “user centricity”. It helps newsrooms build better products to serve their audiences better. This thinking is not just about content but how content is being served up to include user interface, platforms and newsletters.
This session provides in depth study into how newsrooms can become more audience centric. Speakers will identify processes, analytics, tools and techniques which can aid newsrooms address the needs of their audience and engage them better.
Following the speakers’ presentation, there will be an interactive mini roundtable workshop where our speakers will facilitate a discussion to determine what works and what doesn’t in their quest for a more audience-focused newsroom.
Prof Edson will talk about the news media trends in Asia based on his research, sharing with participants what he has found out about audience needs in the region.
Khalil will give actionable insights about bringing newsrooms closer to audiences by becoming more audiences-informed. He will specifically go through the user needs work some newsrooms within The Conversation have used.
Unwind and meet your fellow delegates for a cocktail reception at 6.30pm before celebrating the achievements of your colleagues at the digital awards presentation ceremony while enjoying a sumptuous feast.
In the current challenging business environment, there is a pressing need to explore adjacent revenue opportunities that can help news media organisations boost their bottomline. This session explores ideas that some media companies have explored, why they did it and what factors need to be considered when implementing a similar strategy.
Joey will speak about how TNL Mediagene, which started as a digital news media company, today makes a significant portion of its revenue from its non-media business.
Ting Ting will be discussing strategies for the survival of digital media in adapting to the evolving media landscape. This encompasses building credibility through content, engaging audiences with interactive formats, redesigning business models for sustainability, adapting to change, and exploring emerging trends in media monetization, with a focus on practical insights and lessons learned.
Chia Lun will be speaking about CommonWealth’s Learning Business Unit which was launched in 2014 and has been consistently achieving double-digit growth in the last few years. She will also touch on CommonWealth’s membership programme which was launched 2 years ago.
Today, AI is used in many ways in news organisations. It is used to manage subscriptions to find the optimal price point for customers and retain them, reduce churn, automate news processes to bolster core news reporting, and also in algorithms to tailor news content to individual readers’ preferences by personalising content delivery. It is also used to automate repetitive tasks, in predictive analytics and to optimise resource allocation. This session provides case studies of how AI is being used and also introduces tools that are employed.
Liesbeth will talk about the best way to use AI to optimise pricing and subscription.
Ariel will present IDN Times innovative AI feature “Intinya Sih” on the IDN Times platform, which is a revolutionary step in enhancing revenue strategy. This feature caters to the ever-changing reader behaviour of young readers and also proactively addresses the demand for concise and easily digestible content. This resulted in a measurable impact on impressions and readership and triggered a positive transformation in their revenue strategy.
Shafizan will present Astro AWANI’s groundbreaking “Tanya AI (Translation: “Ask the AI”) project. This project harnesses the potential of Generative AI solutions. The initiative revolves around leveraging cutting-edge applications such as Bing AI, ChatGPT, and HeyGen to revolutionise information engagement. The core of the project is aimed at showcasing AI’s prowess in elucidating complex issues for their audience. This initiative aligns seamlessly with their commitment to keeping journalism relevant by narrowing the gap between traditional journalistic standards and the latest digital technologies.
Digital advertising professionals discuss the latest trends in digital advertising, new formats and how AI is playing a part in the industry. How to take advantage of social media and influencer marketing. Listen to our panellists discuss new ideas in digital advertising and how publishers can profit from them.
Eileen’s talk will cover the biggest shakers and movers in publishing industries that clients are looking for.
What are the latest advertising trends driven by technology as well as consumer preferences? The speaker will take the audience through fundamental developments in the ad industry related to the usage of AI, immersive experiences (e.g. CGI) and also sustainability driven advertisement.
Nuffnang is a leading influencer marketing agency in Malaysia. Isaiah will introduce the intricacies of influencer marketing – a relatively new marketing format – and share some ideas about how the news media can leverage this to help grow their audience, brand and revenue.
In today’s day and age, detecting fake news is becoming increasingly challenging and time consuming. However, there are technologies and processes that can help news organisations do this more effectively and efficiently.
Can the issues of speed and reliability be solved by news agencies with technology in an increasingly complex media landscape mired with distrust and disinformation ?
Mediacorp has been actively testing and using new platforms to detect deep fakes and AI generated content since 2022. This presentation will outline how they have approached the problem, as well as their experience in testing and deploying some of these platforms.
Elin will be presenting the Fact-6ers Synergy project, a collaborative effort involving fact-check activists from Liputan6.com and SCTV, an Indonesian free-to-air television network. The aim of the project is to disseminate anti-hoax and anti-hate speech messages ahead of and during the 2024 Indonesia General Election. In addition, the project is a campaign to promote media literacy, and increase awareness of the election process, especially among Generation Z voters.
We present the latest trends from Reuters Institute Digital News Report with an Asian and young reader focus which will highlight how news consumption is changing in the APAC region especially among the new generation. This is followed by a panel discussion on how publishers can respond to these trends to increase their audience and grow revenue.
Amy, who is on the research team, will dissect the latest Reuters Institute Digital News Report focusing on findings relevant to Asia-Pacific publishers and young audiences.
Xing Qi will discuss how Mothership grew to be Singapore’s leading youth-focused digital news platform. How it continuously evolves to keep up with the current trends among young readers and stay relevant to its core readers. Mothership is the most frequently used news source in Singapore, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2022.
FT Strategies will share their Next Gen News research project exploring the news preferences of the next generation of consumers and discuss case studies and inspiration from news organisations on reaching younger audiences.
A fireside chat with Justin Bank, outgoing Managing Editor of the Washington Post, who will talk about how to successfully lead the transformation of news media organisations and how news publishers should prepare for an uncertain future as we grapple with a multitude of challenges, especially changing audience behaviours and technology, notably AI.
