Journalists, publishers, news outlets flock to London for INMA World Congress 2016
The latest International News Media Association (INMA) World Congress, colloquially known as the “Davos of News,” took place in London, England last May 24 to 26. The global conference for news publishers, media outlets, and journalists focused on rekindling consumer and audience interest in current events, leveraging global best practices, and introducing new technologies essential in the new media enterprise.
The decision to bring the global conference to London was rather new to many media companies as it is typically held in the US. However, the organisers said that it was high time to bring it to Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom, where a big number of top news agencies are currently based.
According to its website, over 500 delegates from various media companies across the globe attended the three-day event. This also included promising startup online media executives such as Dom Einhorn of fast-rising business news curation app Born2Invest and revered news industry analysts like Grzegorz Piechota.
“It was nice to hear it straight from the experts, the veterans, and those who have firsthand experience [in] and understanding [of] the industry,” said Einhorn. “And to me, it was very personal, since Born2Invest’s real goal is to become a global player in the finance news curation niche. It was perfect for reminding small industry players, like myself, that there are ‘global practices’ that we need to constantly look at for us to remain on track in terms of how we send information to consumers.”
Global speakers were led by industry experts from various leading media agencies such as Vox Media, Telegraph Media Group, Google, Financial Times, The New York Times and The Guardian among others.
The event also featured the annual Global Media Awards (GMA), held at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The GMA recognised media brands and personalities setting new industry standards and key players in revolutionising the ever-growing media niche.
This year, according to INMA executives, was extra special as it gave new awards for video, print advertising, native advertising, data analytics, consumer research, innovation and incubation.
The US remained the ringleader of this year's GMA with 19 nominations, followed by Australia with 13 and Canada with 12, India and Brazil with nine apiece, Norway with eight, and New Zealand with seven.
"For 2016, INMA expanded the number of categories in the Global Media Awards competition from 15 to 20, added regional “Best of Show” winners, and integrated key concepts from its popular Global Innovation Awards competition," it said in a blog post.”
On May 25, the US and Australia emerged as top overall winners. Australia and New Zealand are the only countries that converted all their nominations into awards. Regional awards are won by Fairfax Media New Zealand (Asia-Pacific); Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden (Europe/Middle East/Africa); Vanguardia, Mexico (Latin America); The Globe and Mail, Canada (North America); and Mumbai Mirror, India (South Asia).
The International News Media Association is currently the world’s largest provider of best practices aimed at boosting revenue and creating strong branding for news media firms across the globe. It comprises over 7,000 executives from over 80 nations. Although its main office is based in Dallas, Texas, it also has stations outside the US, namely India, Brazil, El Salvador and Belgium.
For more information on INMA and its other endeavours, visit its official website or visit its official Facebook Page.
