With less than a month now to WAN-Ifra’s World News Media Congress in Marseille, WAN-Ifra has unveiled its “ambitious programme” for the event.
Co-organisers CMA Media – France's third-largest private media group – see the event as a powerful signal of its commitment to the future of the news industry. “This congress should be a forum for reflection, but also for decisions and concrete cooperation, uniting media, technology players and public officials around a common goal: to strengthen news and journalism in a sustainable way at a time when the press faces significant challenges,” said deputy director Jean-Christophe Tortora.
The 77th congress takes place from June 1-3, in its first return to France in 30 years. WAN-Ifra says its final programme features one of the most prestigious line-ups of top international speakers in the history of the congress. It is expected to draw nearly 1,000 participants from more than 60 countries, representing over 450 news publishers.
Confirmed speakers include Arthur Mensch (Co-founder and CEO, Mistral AI), Arthur Sadoun (Chairman and CEO, Publicis Groupe), Rima Abdul Malak (Executive Director, L'Orient-Le Jour), A.G. Sulzberger (Chairman and Publisher, The New York Times), Almar Latour (CEO and Publisher, Dow Jones/The Wall Street Journal), Katharine Viner (Editor-in-Chief, The Guardian), Xavier Niel (Founder, Iliad – Free), Jane Barrett (Head of AI Strategy, Reuters), Louis Dreyfus (Chairman of the Management Board, Le Monde Groupe), and Phil Chetwynd (Global News Director, Agence France-Presse).
BBC presenter and analysis editor Ros Atkins will preside over the official opening at 2pm on Monday June 1, with a keynote from Sulzberger, and addresses from Henna Virkkunen (Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy), Ladina Heimgartner (President WAN-Ifra and CEO Ringier Media Switzerland), Jean-Christophe Tortora, and Stig Ørskov (WAN-Ifra chief exective).
That evening, at 5pm, the 2026 WAN-Ifra Golden Pen of Freedom will be announced, and on Wednesday afternoon (June 3), Arthur Mensch will discuss the implications and perspectives for media in the era of AI in a fireside chat. The closing sessions will feature distinguished media leaders discussing how to build and redefine media strategies in an AI transformed world, with Almar Latour, Sophie Gourmelen (President EBRA Group), Anders Opdahl (CEO Amedia), Joseph Oughourlian (Chairman Grupo PRISA), Goli Sheikholeslami (CEO, Politico), and Dr. Rainer Esser (Executive Advisor to Holtzbrinck; Supervisory Board member, Die Zeit) on stage.
The Marseille Congress aims to establish a lasting platform for dialogue between media organisations, tech platforms, and policymakers, working toward a ‘new deal’ for news and journalism. The programme, comprising keynotes, panels, debates, workshops, exhibitions, award ceremonies and networking, is structured around three themes: AI in media; the future of journalism; and revenue and growth in the media industry.
Thursday and Friday have been allocated for a Paris study tour.
Find the full programme here. All times CEST.
Pictured: Vallon des Auffes port, Marseille