This week's 2026 INMA Media Subscriptions Summit Week will bring global media executives to Canada for five days of study tours, strategic discussions, and practical seminars focused on growing reader revenue in a rapidly evolving media landscape.
INMA's @g-piechota.bsky.social looks at 20 finalists in the 2026 INMA Global Media Awards for insight into the future of the news subscription business.
Tiers play a critical role in allowing publishers to offer subscribers the right fit for them, author Robert Skrob said during this week's Webinar: It’s about “understanding your subscribers and what they are showing up to want from their news media experience,” Skrob said.
"Managing subscriptions in 2026 is not about maximising a single metric," INMA Readers First Initiative Lead @g-piechota.bsky.social writes. "It is about walking the tightrope balancing structural tradeoffs and understanding what each position costs."
In his latest blog, INMA Readers First Initiative Lead @g-piechota.bsky.social shares a look at how subscription-first newsrooms are reorganising around audiences — and the lesson goes beyond “create an audience team.”
Temwa Mhango, director of Radio Tigabane in northern Malawi, outlined how a regional station transformed community trust into structured, diversified, and measurable revenue during the recent INMA Africa Media Revenue Summit. #inmaAfrica
"This is something that needs confronting now," INMA's Jodie Hopperton writes. "This is not a call to imitate YouTube. Nor is it a call to retreat. It is a call to re-architect."
During a live INMA Webinar, Atul Tyagi of Jagran New Media shared insights into how Indian publishers are deploying GenAI as a tool to reshape advertiser relationships and enhance AI. @gabedorosz.bsky.social discussed how AI-driven tools have completely changed the discovery journey for consumers.
INMA's Earl Wilkinson at #inmaAfrica: “AI today … is turning publishers from content businesses into customer platforms with profitability driven more by lifetime value, not page views,” he said. “This is roughly the equivalent of changing our religion.”
The success of The Interface has shown The Hindu there is an appetite for deeper, nuanced conversations about AI and innovation.
"El Tiempo’s approach shows it is possible to bring multiple formats and AI-driven functionality together — without losing clarity or trust — if design leads the way," INMA Product & Tech Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton writes in her latest blog.
Ringier Serbia's Virtual Chef is an AI-powered assistant that lets readers ask for recipes in plain language, modify them to their needs, and even get step-by-step cooking guidance.
The Age's new tool, the Victorian Schools Guide, aims to empower parents navigating one of the most significant and emotional decisions for families: choosing a school.
In her latest blog, INMA's Kerstin Hasse discusses the importance of newsroom culture in creating content to reach younger audiences: "The question isn’t 'How young does this person need to be?' It’s 'Does this person understand the platform and can they translate our brand identity to it?'"
"AI companies are simultaneously trying to build trust with users and monetise the vast audiences they’ve built," INMA's @gabedorosz.bsky.social writes. "How they resolve that tension will shape the competitive landscape for years to come, and publishers should be paying very close attention."
If you’re thinking “how do we get this story on our Web site,” you’re designing for a mode your audience isn’t in. They’re on TikTok, in Scroll mode, INMA's Young Audiences Initiative Lead Kerstin Hasse writes.
"Super Bowl LX offered a fascinating window into where AI stands in the broader advertising landscape, as both a subject of ads and as a tool for making them," INMA Advertising Initiative Lead @gabedorosz.bsky.social writes.
"Reaching young audiences requires innovation with longer-term, sometimes uncertain, returns," INMA Newsroom Innovation Initiative Lead Sonali Verma writes.
Expressen has taken steps to build stronger relationships with readers under 30 and make its news part of more their everyday routines.
"If retention feels harder than it should, stop asking which campaign to add next. Ask where the lifecycle system is misaligned," INMA's @g-piechota.bsky.social writes in his latest blog.
Following the success of its first masterclass, Funke Digital found a new revenue stream in e-learning content.
"In many markets, we frame subscriptions as the sources for growth and renaissance for journalism," INMA's @g-piechota.bsky.social writes. "In South Korea, they look more like insurance." Piechota shares an interview with Changhee Park, CEO of JoongAng Ilbo, in his latest blog.
INMA Product & Tech Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton shares a list of AI and software tools news media companies are using right now.
As AI evolves, it continues transforming newsrooms in new ways, and during this week’s Webinar — presented by the INMA Newsroom Innovation Initiative — members were given two revolutionary views of that transformation.
With its Beyond the Data campaign, News24 turned to generative AI to develop audience personas.
As podcast Indo Sport celebrated its first birthday at the end of September, it hit highs of more than 200,000 downloads in a week.
"Overreliance on a single company is never a good thing, as we have found to our peril, so this competition of AI tools — not just between Google and OpenAI — should be a good thing for the foundation of journalism," INMA Product & Tech Initiative Lead Jodie Hopperton writes.
Melisa Erkurt, founder of Die Chefredaktion: “I’ve been working with young people for years and I see their behaviour. They don’t call up the news; they expect the news to reach them. That means: on the channels where they’re already spending their time.”
What kind of content are news organisations planning to focus on in an AI-driven ecosystem where consumers can easily find information in answer engines? INMA Newsroom Innovation Initiative Lead Sonali Verma shares some interesting pieces that show what publishers are thinking.
