European media leaders from Poland, Austria, Ukraine, Romania, and France form the third edition of IPI’s Media Innovation Europe jury for the period of 2026-2028.
“Media are up against entirely new challenges from interest, trust and users moving to social, video and agents for content. Yet, this moment presents unique opportunities to build, connect and double down on quality journalism. This year’s jury is uniquely positioned to serve those needs, representing media from every geographic and publisher corner of Europe, representing vertical, creator, wire and local publishing, ready to debate the future of Europe’s independent media. – Ryan Powell
Media Innovation Europe (MIE) is a consortium dedicated to strengthening independent journalism across Europe through innovation, strategy and business development. The multidisciplinary, multi-project programme has funded over 100 news organisations and distributed more than €1.2 million in grants since it launched in 2022.
The jury will accompany the programme throughout the implementation period and are tasked with choosing the next cohort of newsrooms to take part in IPI’s flagship eight-month Transition Accelerator 2026-27, as well as the New Media Incubator 2027-28.
Meet the jury:
Aleksandra Sobczak (Poland)
Aleksandra Sobczak is the CEO of Wyborcza.pl and Gazeta.pl, two of Poland’s most influential media companies. She previously served as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Gazeta Wyborcza and as Head of Strategy and Development at Wyborcza.pl, where she oversaw the homepage and led major editorial teams across business, science and health, Wysokie Obcasy, as well as video, podcast, and data journalism.
Clémentine Forissier (France)
Clémentine Forissier is the co-founder and Editorial Director of Contexte, a pioneering independent French political media outlet. Over the past 13 years, she has built a newsroom of nearly 70 journalists across Paris and Brussels, establishing Contexte as a leading source of in-depth public policy reporting for French and European audiences, in both French and English.
Katharina Schell (Austria)
Katharina Schell is editor-in-chief at APA – Austria Presse Agentur, Austria’s independent news agency. She is responsible for digital strategies and innovation in the APA newsroom, a member of the innovation unit “APA-medialab” and a member of the APA AI Board. Her main expertise lies in the use of AI in journalism, AI literacy and AI strategy.
Dmytro Tishchenko (Ukraine)
Dmytro Tishchenko is co-founder and board chair of CUKR.CITY, an independent media outlet in Sumy, Ukraine, 30 km from the Russian border, and advises Ukrainian newsrooms on AI adoption.
Diana Filimon (Romania)
Diana Filimon is an Ashoka Fellow and founder of Forum Apulum, empowering millions of young people across Romania and Europe through youth journalism and civic education.
Within MIE 3.0, the jury selects up to 18 media organisations to take part in the Transition Accelerator, which will offer up to €25,000 and hands-on advisory and training in innovation and business development methods. IPI supports organisations to remain competitive and innovate through investment in audience relationships, revenue generation, and technology adoption.
In 2027, the Jury will also select up to 15 new media and startup organisations for the third edition of the New Media Incubator, offering an eight-month innovation incubator with training, coaching and solutions development with up to €20,000 grants per newsroom.
In addition to direct funding support, selected newsrooms will receive hours of tailored advisory support, providing the networks, resources, expertise, and tools to assert their own future and to sustain independence against economic and political pressures.
Led by the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI), the Media Innovation Europe (MIE) Consortium brings together Thomson Media (TM), the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), and The Fix Foundation (TFF).
