The Future of News

The Future of News summit recently brought together Group M’s agencies and clients for a fascinating look into the state of journalism and how the industry is changing.

“It’s critical that The Globe and Mail takes a leadership position to help profile the importance of premium content and premium journalism in the Canadian marketplace. At the end of the day, we are making substantial investments in journalism so we can improve and make Canada a better country and we felt that this platform, working jointly with the Group M team, would allow us to articulate the value that journalism brings to both society as well as the advertising community,” said Andrew Saunders, The Globe’s Chief Revenue Officer during the opening remarks.

Check out each session in full below.

Session 1: Journalism Under Fire

Time magazine in 2018 selected journalists in a “war on truth” as its ‘Person of the Year’. Some, like columnist Jamal Khashoggi, have literally been killed, and scores of others have had their writing and reporting attacked on a number of fronts, particularly social media. What impact is the digital economy having on news media and what current and future strategies should be deployed? What results do The Globe and other media organizations expect from participation in The Trust Project? How do advertising and marketing fit into the picture, from privacy and trust issues, to brand safety and engagement?

MODERATOR:

Gabe Gonda, Managing Director, Corporate Development, The Globe and Mail

PARTICIPANTS:

Robyn Doolittle, Investigative Reporter, The Globe and Mail
Elizabeth Renzetti, Columnist and Feature Writer, The Globe and Mail
Susan Krashinsky Robertson, Media and Marketing Reporter, The Globe and Mail

Session 2: Visual Journalism

The days of the newsroom chasing page views at the expense of all other metrics are over. Journalism is rapidly expanding into the visual sphere, with stunning results. A focus on engagement over page views has led to some remarkable storytelling, and the elements of those great experiences are also being applied to content marketing for captivating advertising campaigns. We will pull back the curtain and reveal how these final products were achieved, start to finish.

PRESENTERS:

Matt Frehner, Head of Visual Journalism, The Globe and Mail
Monica Bialobrzeski, Creative Strategist, Globe Content Studio, The Globe and Mail
Ming Wong, Associate Art Director, The Globe and Mail

Session 3: Big Data, AI and Audience

Legacy publishing companies spent the bulk of their histories distributing content they thought was best for their audiences. Rapidly developing technology now enables news media to stop the guessing games and really get to know their customers, from content consumption habits to interests, to buying preferences. How can proprietary tools leveraging artificial intelligence improve customer service for publishers while enhancing strategic marketing and advertising programs?

PRESENTER:

Greg Doufas, Chief Technology Officer, The Globe and Mail

Q&A MODERATOR:

Sonali Verma, Senior Project Manager, Analytics, The Globe and Mail

Session 4: Advertising in the age of Attention Tokens

The Brave browser has six million monthly users compared with Google Chrome’s one-billion-plus, but its built-in ad tracker and blocker and its use of a blockchain-based attention token are features advertisers and marketers can’t afford to ignore. Are we headed toward a future where a majority of consumers will be ‘paid’ to view ads and publishers will be rewarded with tokens for producing great work? If so, how should their business models change? What do marketers need to be thinking about now, while it’s still early stages? How important is marketing technology, now and in the foreseeable future? Where are the pitfalls and the opportunities?