After an energizing and thought-provoking week in London at the INMA World Congress of News Media 2025, Jodie Hopperton, Director of INMA’s Product Initiative, has touched down in Los Angeles with a clear message: the future of news demands urgency, innovation, and a renewed focus on people.
Hopperton, who co-moderated mainstage sessions alongside Robert Whitehead, shared reflections from the event where she facilitated conversations with media powerhouses—including CEOs from Dow Jones, CNN, Gannett, McClatchy, AJC, and more—alongside 603 delegates from 43 countries.
“This week was an incredible reminder not only of what we need to be doing as an industry, but why,” Hopperton said.
Her Top Takeaways from the Congress:
🙋 Put People Before Pageviews
Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour cut through the noise with a simple truth: metrics aren’t just numbers—they’re human beings. “Putting people at the centre of everything—from product to editorial—builds trust and long-term engagement,” Hopperton emphasized.
⌚ AI: The Biggest Regret and the Biggest Opportunity
One common theme across the CEO panels: they all wish they had embraced AI earlier. Whether in editorial workflows, audience development, or product innovation, the clear call-to-action is to accelerate your AI roadmap now.
📣 Marketing is Not Optional
At The Wall Street Journal, editors and marketers work side by side. Hopperton noted how this integrated approach—along with empowering individual creators to promote their own work—is becoming essential to amplify journalism in a noisy digital landscape.
📉 Search is Changing—Fast
With traditional search traffic expected to drop to near zero within two years, Hopperton stressed the need for media companies to adapt. “AI interfaces and answer engines are the new front doors. If publishers don’t plan for this now, they’ll be left out of the next discovery ecosystem.”
🏠 Strengthen the Core with Data and Scarcity
From Madhav Chinnappa to Josh Stone, thought leaders warned of the need to rethink how content is structured and protected. Hopperton emphasized the importance of establishing robust metadata frameworks, auditing bot access, and exploring models of digital scarcity that preserve value.
“We are in a moment of both technological turbulence and political urgency,” said Hopperton. “And that makes journalism more essential than ever.”
To cap the week, Hopperton and Whitehead attended Broadway’s “Good Night, and Good Luck”—a powerful tribute to journalism’s role in democracy. “It was the perfect close to a week spent reaffirming our purpose,” she reflected.
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As news publishers head back to their respective corners of the globe, Hopperton’s message is crystal clear: move fast, stay human, and never lose sight of the ‘why’.
