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Timetable


The European Publishing Congress will take place on June 17–18, 2026, at the Palais Niederösterreich in Vienna. Europe’s leading media professionals will present their strategies and discuss the future of the industry.

June 17, 2026

Get-together:
5:30 PM: Doors open/Cocktail reception
6:30 PM: Awards of Excellence ceremony
8:00 PM: Networking & Buffet
10:00 PM: End of event



June 18, 2026

8:30 a.m.: Doors open
9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Conference
7:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.: Winners Night
Keynote: What Does the Future Hold for Media in the New AI World?
Alexander Wrabetz // AI Commissioner for the City of Vienna, AT

Landtagssaal

  • –

    Welcome

  • –

    Keynote: AI and Journalism: The truth remains untouchable – even when it appears less spectacular
    Stefan Aust // DE

  • –

    SPIEGEL’s AI Strategy
    Ole Reißmann // Head of AI, SPIEGEL Publishing, DE

  • –

    AI and Organization: The path to an AI-ready media company
    Laura Seiffe // AI Project Manager, ZEIT Publishing Group, DE

  • –

    “Liquid publisher” as a model for the media company of the future
    Marcel Semmler // Chief Product Officer for Global Digital Publishing, Bauer Media, DE

  • –

    The AI revenue shift: why licensing deals are just the beginning
    Ulrike Langer // Trendscout, USA

  • –

    The Madsack Strategy: How we achieve both growth and efficiency
    Thomas Düffert // CEO, Madsack, DE

  • –

    Lunch
    12:00-13:00

  • –

    Media Innovation Lab: Case 1
    Correct cheaply, correct twice: Why noz is reinvesting in its copy desk
    Louisa Riepe, Editor-in-Chief, noz & Alexander Seifert, Founder and CEO, Textshine

  • –

    Media Innovation Lab: Case 2
    How a leading German publishing house for pharmacy e-papers and print is building a profitable future
    Marcus von Harlessem, Markstein, Daniel Gebühr & Verena Geywitz, Deutscher Apotheker Verlag

  • –

    Media Innovation Lab: Case 3
    From AI functions to AI-controlled editorial workflows
    Volker Zota, Heise Medien & André Klahold, InterRed

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    Media Innovation Lab: Case 4
    AI in topic discovery
    Matthias Kretschmer, CEO & Founder kordiam.io | skimmr.ai

  • –

    Media Innovation Lab: Case 5
    Industrypremiere from Vienna: How APA-Comm and Rankscale make the AI visibility of every press release measurable
    Mathias Ptacek, Rankscale & Stefan Kern, APA-Comm

  • –

    Media Innovation Lab: Case 6
    Lidé: Takeing social interactions back from the major platforms
    Pavel Bouška & Peter Jančárik, Seznam.cz, a.s.

  • –

    Media Innovation Lab: Case 7
    One project, all channels: How ZFK rebuilt its CMS, Website, App, and print products in six months
    Stephan Heck // CEO & Founder, Purple, DE & Carsten Wagner // Managing Director, ZFK & VKU Verlag, DE

  • –

    Media Innovation Lab: Case 8
    How AI can generate thousands of stories on election night
    Philipp David Pries // Team Leader, Data Journalism, IPPEN.MEDIA, DE

  • –

    The future of local journalism: relevance, reach and responsibility
    Wolf Röcken // Editor-in-chief, Berner Zeitung, Tamedia, CH
    Isabel Russ // Editor-in-chief Vorarlberg, Russmedia, AT
    Katja Fleischmann // Project manager, DRIVE/dpa, DE
    Markus Knall // Editor-in-chief, Ippen.Media, DE
    Steffen Grimberg, Director, KNA Media Service, DE

  • –

    The battle of the agents: why maintaining control over AI in journalism and PR is essential
    Richard Tigges // Director, Institute for Applied Communication Intelligence & Head of Technology Cluster, CommTech Association, DE

  • –

    Journalism between assistance and the loss of autonomy
    Nadia Kohler // Director AI & Data, Tamedia, CH

  • –

    BILD und Upday: AI agents at work
    Kashika Manocha// Product Managerin, Axel Springer, DE & Daniel Böcking // Member of the editorial board and Head of AI, BILD, DE

  • –

    End of conference
    16:10

Prälatensaal

  • –

    The transition from static design to animated design
    Marianne Bahl // Bahl Visual Strategi, DK

  • –

    Lessons from an unusual relaunch in the age of AI
    Michaelis Tsintsinis // Editor-in-chief of the Sunday edition, Kathimerini, GR

  • –

    How much longer will print be worth it in the digital age?
    David Pontes // Editor-in-chief, Público, PT

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    Excellence at the intersection of local journalism, AI and design
    Adae Santana // Head of illustration and infographics, La Provincia, ES

  • –

    From workflow to platform: building an AI-native publishing house
    Peter Stuart // Founder and publisher, Velora Cycling, UK

  • –

    From the User Needs Model to AI in multimodal content strategies
    Dmytry Shishkin // Developer of the User Needs Model for the BBC, UK

  • –

    Lunch
    12:00-13:00

  • –

    AI in news websites and the future of editorial design
    Björn Heselius // Head of the data platform, Swedish Radio, SE

  • –

    The formula for successful digital transformation
    Thomas Berndt // Editor-in-chief, Politiken & Rasmus Vendrup // Digital and concept designer, Politiken, DK

  • –

    Audience engagement in times of information overload and war fatigue
    Elsa Court // Audience development manager, Kyiv Independent, UA

  • –

    How journalism beyond the hotspots can grow with AI support
    Maximilian Helm // Head of Digital Desk, Sächsische Zeitung, DE

  • –

    AI in local journalism – what really works
    Louisa Riepe, Editor-in-Chief, NOZ, DE

  • –

    Podcast: The AI-proof market of the future
    Stefan Lassnig // Founder & Managing Director, Missing Link Media, AT

  • –

    The biggest technological transformation in history – and why companies have a unique opportunity right now
    Gerhard Kürner // CEO, 506.ai, AT

  • –

    AI in newsrooms: What lies beyond the hype
    Ulrike Langer // Trendscout, USA

  • –

    From trade publication to a successful digital news platform
    Carsten Wagner // Managing director, ZFK, DE & Gordon Karau // Graphic designer, ZFK, DE

  • –

    End of conference
    16:10

Herrensaal

  • –

    Generative AI: leading without a blueprint
    Friederike Marie Föll // Head of business transformation and strategy, Burda, DE

  • –

    Russmedia´s two-way AI approach
    Lena Leibetseder // Head of digital publishing, Russmedia, AT

  • –

    Editorial teams and AI: why we need a common data language
    Chris Guse // CEO, BosePark, DE

  • –

    More revenue per customer with premium subscriptions
    Kersten Köhler // Managing director, General-Anzeiger Bonn, DE

  • –

    How a 200-person media company can create the impact of 1,000
    Kassian Alexander Goukassian // Falkemedia, DE & Maximilian Kleinsorg // Head of AI, Falkemedia, DE

  • –

    AI and newsletters: How attitude in your inbox becomes a strategic advantage
    Pascal Biedenweg // Digital lead, FUNKE Medien Berlin/Berliner Morgenpost, DE

  • –

    Lunch
    12:00-13:00

  • –

    User acceptance: What we need to do to keep users engaged with AI-supported content
    Henning Bulka // Deputy editor-in-chief, Rheinische Post, DE

  • –

    Editorial circular economy instead of GEO
    Dennis Ballwieser // Editor-in-chief and managing director, Wort & Bild Verlag, DE

  • –

    LinkedIn as a booster of marketing and networking
    Constantin Kaindl // Founder and managing director,
    wirdenkenlokal, DE

  • –

    Hey_: the companion strategy at BILD
    Daniel Böcking // Head of AI, BILD, DE

  • –

    How AI has changed the work inside Welt´s newsroom
    Olaf Gersemann // Deputy editor-in-chief, Die Welt

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    Bring people home! A technological approach to an independent reach
    Gerhild Pirker // MarTech consultant and founder, VOIZZ, AT

  • –

    How AI-generated content works for Gen Z
    Niklas Schwab & Kariko Kimathi // Founder, Hedgefonds Henning, DE

  • –

    People, machines, media: the AI evolution at turi2
    Markus Trantow // Editor-in-chief, turi2, DE & Max Wirnsberger // AI expert and software developer, AT

  • –

    AI in Media Sales: What’s already working great and where the limits lie
    Paul Thümer // Vice President Central Europe, FRAME, DE

  • –

    Build, buy or be left behind: the new market for AI tools in the newsroom
    Ulrike Langer // Trendscout, USA

  • –

    End of conference
    16:20