Elleyne Aldine opened Congress with warmth, wit, and essential safety notes — before inviting delegates to experience a powerful flamenco performance celebrating Spain’s passion, creativity, and storytelling spirit.

Yulia Boyle (FIPP Chair) and Andrés Rodríguez (President, ARI Spain) opened Congress by bringing FIPP “home” to Madrid — where it was founded 100 years ago.

Boyle called on delegates to “tune, prototype, and share” to shape the next century of global media collaboration. Rodríguez celebrated Spain’s creative and economic resurgence, declaring: “Print is haute couture, digital is prêt-à-porter — and trust in strong brands has never mattered more.”

Mark Howard (COO, TIME) shared how Time 3.0 is redefining a century-old icon — from dropping its paywall to uphold accessibility and trust, to launching TIME Africa and TIME France as part of a bold global expansion.

With 15 AI partnerships (OpenAI, Perplexity, Amazon, Scale AI), TIME is using technology to protect IP, enhance storytelling, and deepen engagement through tools like its AI toolbar and “Henry & Lucy” daily audio briefings.

Howard’s message: “Don’t let AI happen to you — let AI happen for you.”

Justin Smith (Co-Founder & CEO, Semafor) shares how the three-year-old news startup became profitable and global fast — building an “events-first, journalism-powered” model that fights bias, cuts information overload, and speaks to the world beyond the West.

From Washington’s new CEO summit to bureaus across Africa and the Gulf, Smith says: “Great journalism, great people, and a clear mission can still build a global brand.”

Alastair Lewis (FIPP CEO) opened Congress with a powerful call for unity and optimism as FIPP marks its 100th year.

He celebrated the industry’s enduring strengths — human-curated storytelling, trust, and community — while announcing FIPP’s planned merger with WAN-IFRA, creating a stronger global voice for publishers.

His message: “Human first — curated, credible, connected. That’s how magazine media will thrive in the AI age.”

Almudena Maíllo invites delegates to explore “the land of inspiration” — a city of culture, cuisine, and stories waiting to be told.

Jacqueline Loch (AZURE) explores how legacy media can thrive in the creator era with Jacob Donnelly and Lucy Kueng.

Creators move fast, connect directly, and own their audiences — while traditional media must unlearn old habits and build lean, collaborative models.

Kueng put it bluntly: “The audience is already at the party — it’s time for media to gate-crash.”

Inés Lorenzo (Vogue Spain) and Daniel Bara (GQ Spain) show how Condé Nast’s Spanish titles turn local creativity into global influence.

Their formula: culture as KPI, community as currency. From championing Spanish talent to leading Vogue and GQ’s top-performing TikToks worldwide — local stories are driving global success.

Luke Bradley-Jones (CEO, The Economist) reveals how the 180-year-old brand continues to grow — balancing profitability with purpose.

Two-thirds of revenue now comes from digital, podcasts, and video, while new ventures like Economist Impact and Economist Education expand its reach.

His goal: steady, sustainable growth to safeguard fearless, fact-based journalism for the next 180 years.

Brady Brim-DeForest (CEO, Kudu) explored how attention — media’s core currency — is being redefined in the age of AI.

As algorithms reshape consumption, he urged publishers to focus less on reach and more on resonance, emotion, and authenticity.

Future media, he predicted, will be personalised, outcome-driven, and emotionally intelligent — where “credibility and meaning” become the new metrics of value.

Juan Señor (FIPP Innovation Media Consulting) delivered a passionate wake-up call: “The internet is dying — and we must build what comes next.”

He warned publishers to prepare for zero-click traffic and an AI-driven world, urging them to defend their IP, license fairly, and label content as “human-made.”

His rallying cry: soul and spine — journalism with personality, courage, and purpose — to stand out from the coming wave of AI “slop.”

Ricky Sutton and Chris Duncan delivered a sharp, fast-moving live edition of Scotch & Watch, unpacking how Big Tech’s dominance is fracturing — and why that’s good news for publishers.

They forecast antitrust breakups for Google and Meta, the rise of “pay-per-crawl” AI licensing, and a return to direct sales powered by AI agents.

Their rallying call: “Publishers didn’t fail — a wrong thing was done to us. The turning point has already happened. Be proud of what you do.”

Mark Judd (CDS Global) shared how UK publishers are adapting to change through bundling, memberships, and customer empowerment.

Print is becoming a premium experience, while flexibility and transparency now drive loyalty. Examples like Empire VIP show how paid memberships with exclusive access can more than double revenue per reader.

His advice: test, bundle, and give control back to customers — when they manage the relationship, they stay longer.

Meera Garibaldi (Chief Growth Officer, The Atlantic) explained how the 169-year-old brand grew to 1.4 million subscribers through clarity, conviction, and trust in its audience.

The Atlantic’s mission — to uphold independent journalism and the American idea — underpins a premium model with subscribers paying $80+ a year.

Garibaldi rejects free trials and gimmicks: “Either people are willing to pay, or not — so ask them to pay.”

Kati Murto (UPM Communication Papers) championed print as a medium of trust, learning, and inspiration — not nostalgia.

Nearly half of Europeans still prefer magazines in print, and print advertising delivers six times ROI compared to digital.

She positioned paper as a sustainable, circular product, noting UPM plants four trees for every one harvested and aims to cut emissions to 100kg CO₂ per ton by 2030.

Her message: Print’s future is not past — it’s purpose, sustainability, and value reborn.

Martin Wissa (Burda Germany) outlined how Europe’s largest magazine publisher is re-engineering its structure to stay agile amid AI disruption and Google traffic declines.

Burda is shifting from reach to engagement, building direct user relationships through paid apps, e-commerce, and lead-generation partnerships — reducing reliance on ad-driven models.

Wissa emphasized entrepreneurial teams, lean tech, and decentralised agility: “Every brand team must act like business owners — fast, experimental, and on mission.”

His core belief: change the culture first, then the structure.

Mark Howard (TIME), Meera Garibaldi (The Atlantic), Maureen Hoch (Harvard Business Review), and Paul Thompson (UK Parliament Publishing) explored how AI is reshaping every layer of media — from newsroom to business model.

Publishers are using AI to boost efficiency, automate workflows, enhance accessibility, and test dynamic paywalls and conversational search. Yet all agreed: human-led journalism remains at the core.

Howard predicted new AI marketplaces for content licensing, while Garibaldi urged unity: “We must shape the AI future — not just react to it.”

Their shared outlook: human integrity + smart AI adoption = sustainable media.

Charlotte Stockdale (HELLO! Group) showed how heritage and heart still win in an AI age.

HELLO! and HOLA! are building communities, not just audiences — from the HELLO! Royal Club to lifestyle networks — powered by trust, emotion, and human connection.

“Community, communication, and connection — the three Cs AI can’t do.”