Blue Study Tour Agenda

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Monday

May 22

7:30 a.m.-8:45 a.m.
Study Tour registration, welcome coffee, and executive briefing

Join INMA at the Westin Times Square for your registration credentials and welcome coffee. After meeting with colleagues, be briefed on the New York media scene – the perfect overview before your study tour.

Location:
Westin Times Square Hotel
270 West 43rd Street
Gershwin Ballroom, Fourth Floor

CEO, Digital Content Next, United States

Jason Kint

Consultant, United States

Alan D. Mutter

Programming and Events Director, INMA, Germany

Ioana Straeter

Co-Moderator

Digital Platform Initiative Lead, INMA, Australia

Robert Whitehead

Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, INMA, United States

Earl J. Wilkinson

8:45 a.m.-9:15 a.m.
Bus transfer to News Corp

After the executive briefing, the Blue Study Tour will depart the Westin Times Square’s ground-level lobby by bus. Bring your INMA badge, comfortable shoes, a government-issued ID, and proof of COVID vaccination. Just to be safe: pack a mask.

9:15 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

News Corp owns the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, the New York Post, and more. This stop includes a briefing of their top titles, including the Journal, which monetises an audience of nearly 3.5 million premium subscribers. Learn how the News Corp brands are using AI and where they need to protect themselves. Hear how Dow Jones is leveraging volatility to drive diversification of customer engagement and revenue, as well as how the company has targeted quality over quantity in their subscription strategy. Meanwhile, learn about Storyful’s efforts to prevent social video misinformation and how The Sun is taking on the U.S. market.

Location:
News Corp
1211 6th Ave, New York, NY 10036

11:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Bus transfer to NBA
11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m.

The National Basketball Association has grown its direct-to-customer business through a variety of creative pricing strategies. At the NBA session, the vice president who heads the B2C monetisation programme will discuss their innovative digital subscription program at the league’s sleek, basketball-themed headquarters in Midtown Manhattan.

Location:
The NBA
645 5th Ave, New York, NY 10022

1:15 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
Bus transfer to Advance Local
2:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

This U.S. newspaper publisher boldly has led the way in the migration from print to digital, pioneering reductions in print frequency now growing in popularity.

Location:
Advance Local
1 World Trade Center
44th Floor

3:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
Bus transfer to U.S. News & World Report/Optimera
4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Visit to U.S. News & World Report and Optimera

After pivoting away from print in 2010, U.S. News reinvented itself as a data-driven brand that publishes high-profile rankings in such verticals as education, health, money, travel, and cars. It has improved ad yields by working with Optimera.nyc, a publisher-centric adtech platform Incubated at the New York Daily News.

Location:
Optimera
26 Broadway

5:00 p.m.-5:45 p.m.
Bus transfer to Westin Times Square

Tuesday

May 23

8:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m.
Meet in Westin Times Square lobby for departure

8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
Bus transfer to Arizent

9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

The publisher of leading B2B titles covering banking, financial and professional verticals has created a growing multi-revenue business through news, data, marketing services, and events.

Location:
Arizent
1 State Street Plaza

10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Bus to Bloomberg
11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m.

Diversified across media platforms and around the world, Bloomberg has built a powerful franchise – increasingly in the traditional media business. Their offices remain one of the most unique in media.

Location:
Bloomberg
731 Lexington Ave

1:15 p.m.-1:45 p.m.
Bus to Reuters
1:45 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

The international news agency has built its own applications to leverage artificial intelligence to mine, create, curate, and personalise content. Meet the editor in charge of, as he puts it, “figuring out what the future of the newsroom looks like.”

Location:
Reuters
3 Times Square

3:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Bus to LinkedIn
3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

This Microsoft division has built the world's largest professional network. Learn how it can help publishers build premium audiences for their valuable content.

Location:
LinkedIn
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Ave

5:00 p.m.-5:45 p.m.
Bus to Westin Times Square

Study Tour leader

Robert Whitehead

Robert Whitehead Photo

A former top executive at Fairfax Media, Robert is long-time INMA director and self-styled “Disruptionist.” After serving as Editor of the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald, he moved into sales and marketing for Fairfax Media before embarking on various consulting and start-up ventures. He lives in Sydney.