Rethink not just how you work, but what you do, Michael Brunt urged delegates to last week’s Digital Media India conference.

Keynoting at the Chennai event with Alan Hunter, cofounder of UK-based HBM Advisory and members of the WAN-Ifra expert panel, he had earlier presented a masterclass on audience engagement tactics and strategies.

Opening the first day of the conference, they urged publishers to clearly define their mission and utilise AI as a strategic accelerator. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink not just how you work but what you do,” he said.

Hunter told delegates, “Everyone in your organisation, from interns to the editor-in-chief, should know why you exist, who you serve, and what value you provide.”

It was the start of two days of thought-provoking presentations and debate, the event – now in its fourteenth year – attracting more than 170 media executives from nearly 50 organisations. The programme also included presentation of the 2025 Digital Media Awards South Asia, in which The Hindu Group was named champion publisher.

First day sessions focused on AI-driven workflows, subscriptions, editorial reinvention and audience engagement, with speakers including leaders from The Hindu, BBC, The Wire, Le Monde and Jagran News Media.

A standout roundtable featured Manorama Online chief executive Mariam Mammen Mathew, Pradeep Gairola (vice president and digital business head of The Hindu Group), and Dinamalar associate editor Krishnamurthy Ramasubbu, who discussed strategies for sustainable digital growth.

Gairola suggested editorial had become “only a side game” in news organisations focused on a minimum viable product. “But without a great editorial product, there’s no way a newsroom can survive,” he said.

Mathew commented that sustainable revenue needed more than just advertising: “We’ve run after traffic, not value,” she said, with Ramasubbu commenting that digital-only models were not viable at scale, “unless they’re niche”.

Privacy, principles and product thinking drove the conference’s second day, spotlighting ethical innovation and user-first design. Speakers from BBC Collective Newsroom, The Quint, Manorama, Deutsche Welle (pictured is DW’s Asia desk editor Akanksha Saxena), HT Labs and others shared insights on building data-smart, accessible products.

Newslaundry product and revenue director Chitranshu Tewari led a practical session on creating resilient independent media. “Our app puts users at the centre – from profile deletion and subscription cancellation to granular notification control,” he told delegates.

Practical advice on incubating labs within digital news enterprises – “the strategies to bet for the future” – came from Avinash Mudaliar (pictured), co-founder and chief executive of HT Labs and inventor of Saregama Carvaan audio player.

Finally, presentation of the 2025 South Asia Digital Media Awards (pictured below) was accompanied by comments by Hindu Group chief executive LV Navaneeth, and Vikatan Group managing director Srinivasan B, and followed by a summary and closing comments from Kissflow founder Suresh Sambandam. The awards received more than 110 entries across multiple categories, with winners including the BBC, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, The Quint, Sakal and the Indian Express.

with thanks to WAN-Ifra South Asia