Stagwell Announces ‘Future of News’ Summit on May 15 Featuring Trailblazing Panelist Discussions and 50,000-Respondent Study Revealing the Importance of Investing in News

Stagwell announced the speakers for its inaugural Future of News summit on May 15, 2024 which will be held at Stagwell’s global headquarters at One World Trade Center in New York.

During the event, Stagwell will unveil groundbreaking research, conducted by HarrisX, debunking misconceptions about brand safety in news contexts, and challenge advertisers to reassess investment in news publishers – an essential step in ensuring a thriving future for the news industry.

This summit also marks an occasion to formally debut Stagwell’s new partnership council of U.S. publishers, media buying platforms and social platforms, including Ad Fontes Media, Axel Springer, Axios, Business Insider, POLITICO, The New York Times, The Trade Desk, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Together, the council will launch a transformative platform to challenge the advertising industry to reinvest in news.

“The Future of News Summit will reframe the conversation by debuting research that illustrates the power of news audiences to drive business and debunks common brand safety myths,” said Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn. “According to our prior research, 90% of voters think the country should have freedom of the press, and yet news monetization is increasingly under attack. Live at the summit we’ll bring both brand and publisher partners together to discuss ways to navigate this climate and maintain consumer trust.”

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Penn will kickoff the program and reveal key findings from the research, followed by two panel discussions featuring journalists and brand leaders who see news as the foundation of a thriving democracy and a critical vehicle for marketing ROI.

Panel I: Being A Journalist Today – Stories from the Field: A moderated conversation about the journalists today who are breaking down barriers, holding truth to power, and shining a light on the issues that matter most- despite the most difficult and dangerous of circumstances, featuring:

• Hannah Beckler, Business Insider: Beckler is the Senior Editor, Investigations at Business Insider. Most recently, she reported on the eight US state prison systems that deploy patrol dogs to attack and terrorize incarcerated people, for which she received a National Magazine Award.
• Jason Conti, Dow Jones: Conti is the EVP and General Counsel at Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal. As general counsel, he oversees the company’s legal department. Conti also leads the company’s legal efforts to secure the release of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been wrongfully detained in Russia for over a year.
• Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post: Rezaian is a writer for Global Opinions. He served as The Post’s correspondent in Tehran from 2012 to 2016. He spent 544 days unjustly imprisoned by Iranian authorities until his release in January 2016. He is a CNN contributor.
• Megan Twohey, The New York Times: Twohey is an investigative reporter at The New York Times whose work has prompted changes to the law, criminal convictions and cultural shifts. Twohey is most known for being one of the journalists who broke the story of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s long pattern of sexual harassment and abuse, which helped ignite the #MeToo movement and shared in the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
• Moderated by Ray Day, Stagwell Vice Chair.

SOURCE: PRNewswire