Newsrooms face simultaneous pressure from technology shifts and changing audience trust. World Congress of News Media 2026 takes place May 4 to 8 in Berlin and assembles editorial, product and commercial leaders to translate those pressures into operational choices.
Practical dates and venues for the World Congress of News Media 2026
The week runs across several Berlin landmarks. The welcome reception is May 5 on Museum Island at the Neues Museum. The main conference happens May 6 and 7 at Axica near the Brandenburg Gate. The Global Media Awards dinner takes place May 7 at Tipi am Kanzleramt and workshops and seminars are scheduled May 8 at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski. Explore Berlin+ complements the program from May 3 to 9.
Program highlights to map before you travel
The schedule blends the Media Conference, study tours, focused seminars and Ask Me Anything sessions. Study tours run May 4 and 5, the Media Conference is May 6-7, and May 8 hosts specialist seminars on AI-first newsrooms, young audiences, diversifying advertising portfolios and subscription growth. The Global Media Awards are on May 7. Use the program to pinpoint sessions where your proposition intersects with attendees’ priorities.
Who attends and which companies will be visible
Attendees include senior management from leading news media across more than 50 countries: CEOs, publishers, general managers, digital leaders, advertising and audience executives, editors, product professionals and researchers. Berlin’s media ecosystem appears prominently, with companies such as Axel Springer, Bertelsmann, Tagesspiegel, FUNKE and dpa cited as part of the local media fabric.
B2B prospecting tactics for Berlin
- Map sessions to value props. Match your product to seminars on subscription growth, advertising diversification or AI-first operations.
- Target specific roles. Prioritize meetings with titles that control budgets or product roadmaps and request 20–30 minute slots.
- Bring concise sales collateral. A single-page use case, KPIs and a short demo are more effective than long slide decks.
- Use social slots to confirm next steps. The welcome reception, awards dinner and Ask Me Anything times are prime moments to convert informal conversations into scheduled follow-ups.
- Follow up fast. Send a tailored recap and propose a concrete next meeting within a week of the congress.
Final note and where to check details
Arrive with a short list of target meetings, mapped sessions and a clear follow-up protocol so conversations in Berlin become pilot projects. The official site with agenda, registration and venue details is https://www.inma.org/modules/event/2026WorldCongress/.
The choices media leaders make around product, monetization and AI tools this week will shape operations for the coming year. Attending with execution in mind separates passive observation from measurable commercial progress.
