#MIF26: Towards a shared vision for technology and revenue in independent media
This May, the International Press Institute will host its 2026 Media Innovation Festival in Vienna. IPI will host media entrepreneurs, technologists, journalists, investors and funders from all over the world for two days of identifying and advancing the opportunities for independent media in relation to technology, revenue and resilience now and in the future.
Independent media globally are steering their organizations and products through crises in political intimidation and media capture, direct threats to their business in the form of traffic or donors pulling funding, and technology overhauling the consumer market for trust, new tools mediating access to information and the ability to publish in any format without barriers to entry. In response, publishers, entrepreneurs and funders are exploring alignment, the nature of investments in craft and value of journalism, and deciding how to radically collaborate, pool resources, and reinvent.
This year’s event will host 140 participants, with a focus on in-depth collaboration, dialogue and impact. The outcomes and shared vision will be endorsed and published after the event.
We offer a limited number of spots on a first-come, first-served basis. Subscribe to our newsletter, The Outlook, to get more information on future events.
The theme:
In response to converging pressures on its economic model, distribution tools and consumer market, independent media are workshopping new strategies in radical ways. The incentives driving these methods include tech dependencies, uniqueness and impact, agency, brand, and ownership, accuracy and trust, alongside speed, differentiation, and quality. Funders, investors, and support organisations are grappling with stark shifts in resource availability and rethinking who they fund, while forging new ways to support this work, with coalition-building, collaboration, and trust as their guiding principles.
From May 6 to 7, 2026, IPI will host its 4th Media Innovation Festival, bringing around 140 news entrepreneurs, experts, and support organisations in Vienna together to develop outcomes in a collaborative way and prototype practical responses to these evolving incentives. Attendees will workshop news products, funding strategies, business and ownership models, and distribution strategies for this disruptive moment. In addition to the main sessions of the programme, we will have 1:1 consultations with experts and funders available throughout the day.
Our unique format allows for maximum collaboration, ideation, and agility in driving solutions and opportunities for independent media.
This year’s Festival includes 5 session types:
1. A series of prototyping labs with rapid iteration, where teams build tangible solutions to shared problems: revenue experiments, AI workflows, and audience engagement strategies.
2. Fishbowl forums with rotating discussions where practitioners dissect current challenges and share strategies.
3. High-level panels to steer the discussion.
4. Demos by developers and technologists.
5. 1:1 consultations with investors, revenue specialists and security specialists.
Previous Festivals in New York, Vienna and Sarajevo examined investigative journalism’s profit puzzle, newsroom innovation under crisis conditions, how to balance the risk and promise of AI, digital independence from big tech, partnering with content creators to transform access to news and much more.
Programme
Day 1 | May 6
Opening session
Welcome to the International Press Institute’s 4th Media Innovation Festival, setting the scene for two days of discussion rooted in the evolving incentive structures shaping independent media around the world
- Ryan Powell, Head of Innovation and Media Business, IPI
- Scott Griffen, Executive Director, IPI
Panel: The value and power of media innovation
Opening panel on the value of media innovation in media as a driver of growth, impact and provides a response to the major disruptions in the sector.
- Executive Director, Report for the World, India
- Editor, Dawn, Pakistan
- Founder, Sinatle Media, Georgia
- Director, Cuestión Pública, Colombia
Panel: Funding responses at different stages of media’s growth
Independent media often have strong editorial missions but fragile business structures. Across markets, we see the same pattern: news organiszations with real audience trust struggle to access the right kind of capital at the right time. This session is designed to bridge that gap. We will bring donors, impact investors, business developers and media founders into one room to map a pragmatic capital and support journey—from early philanthropic support to investment-readiness and growth finance.
- Executive Director, Stichting Veronica / V-Ventures, Netherlands
Senior Programme - Director, The Fix Media, Ukraine
- Founder, Center for Sustainable Media, Hungary
- Chief Investment Officer, Media Development Investment Fund, Poland
Day 2 | May 7
Fishbowl: Beyond the Algorithm: How Four European News Organisations Are Rethinking Distribution in the Age of AI
The question for European publishers is no longer whether AI will affect distribution, but how to respond. This panel brings together four news organisations from different European markets, each with a distinct distribution model and a different relationship with AI. It will examine AI applications in information production, distribution and consumption, covering risks and opportunities.
- Chief Product and Technology Officer, Observador, Portugal
- Advisory, FYT Media, Philippines
- Head of Product, Denník N, Slovakia
- IT Engineer, Public Policy, Italy
- Programme Officer, JournalismAI, Turkey
Rapid prototyping
This session covers building news products or services for impactful climate adaptation. Will build mockups and designs with cross-functional teams. Syli will also present Maai Climate Narrative Intelligence Tools, designed to bridge the ‘climate comprehension gap’. The Maai mission is to empower climate representation with data intelligence and speed.
Demo: data collection with Claude Code
- Founding software engineer, fal.ai
Fishbowl: Defining journalism's essential functions
This session advocates for replacing traditional news values with a clearer framework focused on essential functions. These functions help news producers deliberately create value and real-world utility for individuals and communities.
- Engagement Editor, ProPublica, United States
- Founder, Outlier Media, United States
- Professor, Northwestern University, United States
- Founder, News Alchemists, Italy
Fishbowl: Growth phases and investment cases for independent media
Independent media often have strong editorial missions but fragile business structures. Across markets, we see the same pattern: news organisations with real audience trust struggle to access the right kind of capital at the right time. This session is designed to bridge that gap. We will bring donors, impact investors, business developers and media founders into one room to map a pragmatic capital and support journey—from early philanthropic support to investment-readiness and growth finance.
- COO, Media Development Investment Fund
- & more
Panel: Financial sustainability and ethics in climate tech products and services
Ethics, revenue, and independent digital platforms. For information as a public good, complementary products: community platforms, new intermediaries
- Executive Director, FYT Media, Philippines
- CEO, City&Me, Serbia
Workshop: Audience collaboration in the service of recurring revenue
This hands-on session explores a new model of investigative journalism that treats audience collaboration as a strategic asset for both editorial impact and organisational sustainability
- BIRN
- Seek Initiative
- AWE Studio
Fishbowl: Tech dependencies in your stack and ways forward
Tech independence is not a zero-sum game. Building on last year’s MIF panel and debate on how independent we can by, this discussion will look at what the media in the room have in their stack, which aspects are instrumental to their content and revenue strategy, and then talk about their experience mixing big tech with customised, local or government services, with careful attention to the role of AI in lowering the barriers to entry for technology adoption.
Rapid prototyping: Financial resilience as resistance
This prototyping lab turns lessons from revenue experiments by newsrooms in the Larger World into hands-on exercises for participants. Meedan, a global technology non-profit building tools to strengthen journalism and trustworthy information, will share how an AI chatbot is helping newsrooms engage audiences more effectively and explore new revenue streams
- Executive Director, Meedan
- Co-CEO, Chambal Media, India
Fishbowl: how impact measurement and roles will shape media
The evolving importance of impact-focused roles in journalism and driving long-term transformation in how news and media sit in the information ecosystem.
- Gen, știri, Romania
- Salud con lupa, Peru
- Puma Podcast, Philippines
- Daraj, Lebanon
- Magamba Network, Uganda
Workshop: Want underrepresented consumers reading your news? Try listening to them first.
- DocumentedNY
1:1 Consultations with Experts
- V-Ventures
- Media Development Investment Fund
- Open Tech Fund
- ExpatsCZ
- ICIJ+
- IPI
- Marie Curie Staff Exchange, Horizon Europe Programme
In cooperation with
Sponsors
Programmatic Partners
FAQ
What is the Media Innovation Festival 2026 programme?
The detailed programme will be shared with the registered participants 2 weeks before the event.
Where can I find information to plan my stay?
Once your registration is confirmed, you will receive an information pack with the suggested options for your stay. Please note that the travel and accommodation are not covered by the IPI.
I have other questions and need to reach out to the organizers directly.
Please reach out to innovation[at]ipi.media for any other questions related to the Media Innovation Festival 2026.