A new-format event in Milan fostered an open, practical dialogue between publishers, editors, journalists and digital product innovators.
The first Atex ‘Aperitalk Editoriali’ – with partners Marfeel and Qiota – included three focused sessions and an ‘AperiCena’ networking hour, with participants exploring the pressures and opportunities facing today’s newsrooms: from AI‑driven content production to personalised reader journeys and the shifting logic of platform traffic.
The panels were moderated by journalist and consultant Alberto Puliafito, who is the founder and editor of Slow News, who guided the discussions by connecting strategic vision with real newsroom experience and encouraging a candid, practice‑oriented exchange among speakers.
The first session – under the title ‘the augmented publisher’ looked at AI‑driven opportunities for modern content production, and brought together Filippo Tramelli of Primopiano Academy, Filippo Davanzo (deputy managing director of Il Giornale di Brescia), and Sara Forni, innovation product owner at Atex, to introduce the concept of the ‘augmented publisher’.
The discussion explored how today’s publishers operate in an environment where content is increasingly fluid, multi‑format, and shaped by AI. Stories are no longer confined to a single form but must exist simultaneously as text, audio, video, social fragments, and interactive products, a transformation that AI is rapidly accelerating.
During her talk, Sara Forni showcased two Atex research initiatives that directly address the challenges of modern multi‑format production and newsroom efficiency:
-Project JEDI – Turning interview audio into publication‑ready articles in minutes: Funded by the Next Gen EU initiative, the JEDI project focuses on using AI to transcribe, structure, and transform raw interview audio into near‑final editorial content. It demonstrates how AI can drastically reduce production time, support journalists during high‑volume reporting cycles, and maintain a strong editorial voice while automating repetitive steps.
The project perfectly embodied the panel’s central theme: AI as an enabler of quality and speed, not a replacement for editorial judgment.
–Local news intelligent monitoring and sourcing: Sara Forni also presented the Local News research initiative, developed with the University of Oulu (Finland). The goal of this was to give local newsrooms the technological power to maintain comprehensive coverage in a fragmented information environment.
The system uses LLMs to automatically monitor municipal and community‑level sources, extract key facts from scattered updates, and classify and rank them for editorial relevance. In doing so, it helps local journalists focus on what truly matters: capturing the stories that most impact their communities.
A second session looked at increasing conversions through personalised user journeys. Massimo Brugnone of Il Foglio, Stefano Motta of Milano Finanza, and Qiota chief executive Alessandro Massi used use cases to discuss and showcase how data‑driven personalisation can significantly improve subscription performance, demonstrating the impact of tailored user journeys on conversion and long‑term reader value.
Key insights included that conversion rates grow when each reader follows a tailored path; that data is essential to understand propensity to subscribe; and that reader value was maximised when personalisation drives not just paywall exposure but also content recommendations and engagement flows, bringing the message that no longer an option, personalisation is the new backbone of subscription growth.
In a third session, Marta Rocamora from Marfeel presented a fresh study on how Google Discover is evolving under the influence of AI. Their findings show that Discover increasingly rewards publishers who embrace multi‑format content and optimise engagement across platforms such as YouTube and X.
Marco Baldini from Hearst Italia added concrete examples of how AI‑mediated distribution is reshaping traffic dynamics and editorial priorities.
There are hopes Aperitalk Editoriali will be the beginning of a series of events dedicated to connecting technology, editorial strategy and the future of news.
Atex has also announced MyType Analytics, an integrated module with embedded performance intelligence within the editorial workflow, enabling editors to explore pageviews, sessions, bounce rate and average time on page across configurable date ranges., with the panel also surfacing top traffic sources, geographic breakdown, and content performance.