International Journalism Festival 2025: the events you shouldn’t miss in Perugia

From 9 to 13 April, journalists worldwide will gather again for the International Journalism Festival in Perugia. Many voices from the Reuters Institute will speak at the festival. Here are some of the highlights this year, including panels on AI and the media industry, reporting from conflict zones and how journalists can tackle considerable shifts in the international news ecosystem.

All the panels will be live-streamed on the festival's IJF YouTube channel. See you in Perugia or online.

Skip to: 10 April | 11 April | 12 April

Reuters Institute speakers feature on several panels

Mitali Mukherjee: Influencers
Richard Fletcher: Local news
Nic Newman: Product management | News fatigue
Felix Simon: AI

Thursday 10 April

9.30. Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni

15 years of news product management: what worked, what didn’t?

Felicitas Carrique from News Product Alliance | Mariah Craddick from The Atlantic | Nic Newman from RISJ | Anita Zielina from Better Leaders Lab

9.30. Sala dei Notari, Palazzo dei Priori

Leading by example: transforming newsroom leadership for climate crisis reporting

Fergus Bell from Fathm | Phil Chetwynd from AFP | Sharon Johnson from Bellwethers Group | Lea Korsgaard from Zetland

• Our Oxford Climate Journalism Network covers this and more topics related to climate reporting

9.30. Sala Raffaello, Hotel Brufani

Journalists as founders: reinventing journalism for the next era

Maritza Felix from Conecta Arizona | Pavla Holcova from investigate.cz | Martin Kotynek from Media Forward Fund | Djordje Padejski from Stanford University

10.30. Sala Raffaello, Hotel Brufani

The future of local news: decline, resilience and the path forward

Maritza Felix from Conecta Arizona | Richard Fletcher from RISJ | Tim Franklin from the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University | Noreen Gillespie from Microsoft | Daryna Shevchenko from The Kyiv Independent

• We dedicated a chapter of our Digital News Report 2021 to local news and audience value

10.30. Auditorium San Francesco al Prato

The evolution of the censorship narrative: challenges and threats facing fact-checkers in recent years

Ed Bice from Meedan | Angie Drobnic Holan from the International Fact-Checking Network | Tai Nalon from Aos Fatos | Karen Rebelo from BOOM

• Our colleague Gretel Kahn explored how the end of Meta’s long-running partnership with fact-checkers may leave them in a difficult position

11.30. Teatro del Pavone

Who owns the news and why does it matter?

Branko Brkic from Project Kontinuum | Basia Cummings from The Observer | Joshi Herrmann from Mill Media | Jane Martinson

11.30. Auditorium San Francesco al Prato

Captured: how Silicon Valley's AI emperors are reshaping reality

Natalia Antelava from Coda Story | Isobel Cockerell from Coda Story | Julie Posetti from International Center for Journalists | Christopher Wylie 

12.35. Teatro del Pavone

Jason Rezaian and Cecilia Sala in conversation

Jason Rezaian from The Washington Post | Cecilia Sala from Chora Media

• Read this profile of Cecilia Sala, an innovative Italian foreign news podcaster, by Marina Adami

14.00. Auditorium San Francesco al Prato

Journalism as an effective tool in upholding human rights standards

Caoilfhionn Gallagher | Christine Glancey from Rest of World | Ken Roth from the Princeton School for Public and International Affairs |  Rana Sabbagh from Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism

15.00. Teatro del Pavone

Comment is free, facts are sacred/wasted

Natalia Antelava from Coda Story | Ritu Kapur from Quint Digital Media Ltd | Alan Rusbridger from Prospect Magazine | Matt Wells from CNN

• Ritu Kapur, a member of our Advisory Board, recently discussed news influencers and press freedom at the 2025 Memorial Lecture

15.00. Sala dei Notari, Palazzo dei Priori

Rebuilding trust in the news ecosystem

Sarah Alvarez from Outlier Media | Katrice Hardy from The Marshall Project | Andrew Morse from The Atlanta-Journal Constitution | Julie Pace from AP

• For recent data on public perspectives on trust in news, read our chapter dedicated to this issue in the Digital News Report 2024

15.00. Sala Raffaello, Hotel Brufani

From funding crisis to opportunity: ideas and solutions in a post-USAID landscape

Lars Boering from the European Journalism Centre | Sharon Moshavi from ICFJ | Alinda Vermeer from the Limelight Foundation | Peter Erdelyi | Mira Milosevic from the Global Forum for Media Development

16.00. Teatro della Sapienza

The case for emergency visas for journalists in exile

Jodie Ginsberg from CPJ | Bilal Sarwary | Jon Williams from the Rory Peck Trust | Can Yeginsu from the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom

• We have covered journalism in exile, and the challenges that come with it, in a range of articles 

16.00. Auditorium San Francesco al Prato

The Muskification of American media

Patrícia Campos Mello from Folha de São Paulo | Courtney Radsch from the Center for Journalism and Liberty | Anya Schiffrin from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University | Clayton Weimers from RSF USA

• Catch up with Patrícia Campos Mello’s 2021 Reuters Memorial Lecture

17.00. Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni

From fake to faith: regaining trust in journalism in Africa

Sulemana Braimah from the Media Foundation for West Africa | Ama Kodjo from DW Akademie Ghana | Pamella Makotsi Sittoni from the Thomson Foundation | Hamadou Tidiane Sy from Ouestaf News

• Our colleague Gretel Kahn wrote about Russia and China’s increasing influence on Africa’s news ecosystem

17.00. Teatro della Sapienza

Battling disinformation in the shadow of hybrid warfare: lessons from Romania and Moldova

Dan Duca from Hotnews | Victor Ilie | Cristian Lupsa | Alina Radu from Ziarul de Garda

17.00. Teatro del Pavone

All journalists are content creators: it’s time for us to embrace that

Mark Little | Jane Ferguson from Noosphere | Taylor Lorenz from User Magazine | Johnny Harris 

Friday 11 April

9.30. Sala dei Notari, Palazzo dei Priori

Reporting on the four biggest killers: exposing the corporate playbook of Big Food, tobacco, fossil fuels, and alcohol

Chrissie Giles from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism | Ben Hallman from The Examination | Stephane Horel from Le Monde | Fabiola Torres from Salud con Lupa

9.30. Teatro della Sapienza

Climate in context: covering the climate crisis in a fractured world

Ravid Al Jaloud from Pax Memoria | Ellery Roberts Biddle from Meedan | Nithin Coca | Isobel Cockerell from Coda Story

10.30. Sala Raffaello, Hotel Brufani

Closing the gap: aligning local news with community needs

Dale Anglin from Press Forward | Jim Brady from the Knight Foundation | Jonathan Heawood from the Public Interest News Foundation | Sarah Bishop Woods from News Revenue Hub

10.30. Teatro del Pavone

Investigating and reporting on AI ‘nudifying’ sites and non-consensual intimate imagery

Sam Cole from 404 Media | Kolina Koltai from Bellingcat | Charlotte Maher from Bellingcat | Michael Safi from The Guardian

• Marina Adami explored the trend of AI news avatars and why they’re often created to resemble attractive young women.

11.30. Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni

After the hype: what are the key trends in journalism and AI?

Charlie Beckett from Polis, LSE | Gina Chua from Semafor | Ezra Eeman from NPO | Karen Hao

• Marina Adami interviewed Karen Hao on DeepSeek shortly after its spike in popularity

11.30. Teatro della Sapienza

Going independent: how journalists are building audiences and growing businesses across the world

Gloria Chan from Green Bean Media | Adam Cole | Yuri Fernandes from #Colabora | Samuel Munia from Africa Uncensored

• Our contributor Laura Oliver explored what it takes to be an independent journalist ‘creator’ in the Global South in a piece published in 2021
• While the most popular news influencers are men, some women are finding success despite sexist attacks, Gretel Kahn found

11.30. Sala dei Notari, Palazzo dei Priori

Local Call: independent journalism in Israel after 7 October 2023

Ghousoon Bisharat from +972 Magazine | Francesca Caferri from La Repubblica | Yonit Mozes from Local Call | Oren Persico from The Seventh Eye | Meron Rapoport from A Land for All | Samah Salaime

12.35. Teatro della Sapienza

Who is mainstream media now?

Mitali Mukherjee from RISJ | Sophia Smith Galer

• Read this piece by Sophia Smith Galer explaining how she built her own AI chatbot

14.00. Sala Raffaello, Hotel Brufani

Unplugging to reconnect: creating premium offline experiences to recharge membership

Natalia Antelava from Coda Story | Fran Beighton from the Daily Maverick | Jordan LaFlure from The Onion | Mary Walter-Brown from Revenue Hub

15:00. Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni

Bringing readers back: real world tactics for combating news fatigue

Ellen Heinrichs from the Bonn Institute | Inanna Lallerstedt from Svenska Dagbladet | Nic Newman from RISJ | Angela Pacienza from The Globe and Mail

• Nic Newman and Ellen Heinrichs listed seven things journalists can do to counter news avoidance 

15:00. Teatro del Pavone

Silencing the press: the global spread of foreign agent laws and their impact on journalism

Alsu Kurmasheva from RFE/RL | Can Yeginsu from the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom | Antonio Zappulla from TRF

• The USAID cuts are being used in some countries as an excuse to target journalists for being recipients of ‘foreign donors’. In a recent piece, we explored this and other challenges related to the cuts.

15.00. Sala dei Notari, Palazzo dei Priori

What is the impact of journalism and how to measure it?

Jazmín Acuña from El Surtidor | Marina Dias from Agencia Publica | Sameer Padania from Macroscope Consultancy | Flora Pereira from the Pulitzer Center | Sisi Wei from CalMatters

16.00. Auditorium San Francesco al Prato

Journalism plus imagination

David Castello-Lopes | Sonia Kronlund from France Culture | Florence Martin-Kessler from Live Magazine | Douglas McGray from Beyond Beyond

17.00. Teatro del Pavone

Navigating organizational operations in wartime: insights from Ukrainian media leaders

Mariia Leonova from Jnomics Media | Serhii Prokopenko from Gwara Media | Dmytro Tischenko from Cukr.city | Rosana Tuzhanska from Varosh

• We have covered the impactof the war on journalism and journalists in Ukraine since its outbreak three years ago.

17.00. Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni

Leading the AI-driven newsroom: strategies for embracing innovation responsibly

Gina Chua from Semafor | Josef El Mahdi from Swedish Radio | Lwazi Maseko from JournalismAI | Joshua Olufemi from Dataphyte

• We recently hosted a one-day AI conference discussing its impact on coverage, newsrooms and society.

Saturday 12 April

9.30. Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni

Earth shorts: the role of journalists and social media content creators in redefining environmental journalism

Imelda Abano from Internews | Hannah Bernstein from Internews | Jacque Manabat | Gregg Yan

• Marina Adami explored the implications of the growing consumption of extreme weather event news on social media in a recent piece.

9.30. Sala Raffaello, Hotel Brufani

News or noise? The competing visions for journalism in an AI-mediated society

David Caswell from StoryFlow | Shuwei Fang from the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy | Paul Matzko from the Cato Institute | Murielle Popa-Fabre from the Council of Europe

10.30. Sala dei Notari, Palazzo dei Priori

Censorship and self-censorship in media during wars

Omer Benjakob from Haaretz | Milan Czerny from Shomrim | Olga Rudenko from The Kyiv Independent | Vivian Schiller from Aspen Digital

11.30. Auditorium San Francesco al Prato

Enemy of the people? The role of the media in an era of rising authoritarianism

Patrícia Campos Mello from Folha de São Paulo | Damian Collins from the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University | Ritu Kapur from Quint Digital Media Ltd | Staffan Lindberg from V-Dem Institute | Antonio Zappulla from TRF

14:00. Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni

Being a “one woman show” in media: what you need to know

Patience Chisanga-Mayer | Sruthi Gottipati | Josephine Karianjahi from Africa Podfest | Johanna Rudiger from DW

14.00. Teatro del Pavone

Now the hard part: evaluating and integrating AI in newsrooms

Rubina Madan Fillion from The New York Times | Tess Jeffers from The Wall Street Journal | Chris Moran from The Guardian | Felix Simon from RISJ

15.00. Sala Raffaello, Hotel Brufani

Collaboration beyond content: strengthening independent public-interest journalism

Brigitte Alfter from the Arena for Journalism in Europe | Peter Matjasic from Investigate Europe | Marcia Parker from The New York Times | Lela Vujanić from Project Oasis

15.00. Sala dei Notari, Palazzo dei Priori

Breaking on Bluesky: live news in a post-Twitter era

Peter Andringa from the FT | Fadah Jassem from The National News | Sarah Jeong from The Verge | Emily Liu from Bluesky

16.00. Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni

Product is for everyone: challenges and lessons from small and local news in operationalizing the audience-centric mindset

Felicitas Carrique from News Product Alliance | Aron Pilhofer from Star Tribune Media Company | Aldana Vales from Gannett - USA TODAY Network | Ariel Zirulnick 

16.00.  Sala Raffaello, Hotel Brufani

Journalism ethics in the creator economy era

Sanne Breimer from Inclusive Journalism | Kassy Cho from Almost | Sruthi Gottipati | Indira Lakshmanan from US News & World Report

17.00. Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni

Co-creational news media

Jonathan Heawood from the Public Interest News Foundation | Darryl Holliday from Commoner Company | Eliz Mizon from The Bristol Cable | Natalia Viana from Agencia Publica

17.10. Sala delle Colonne, Palazzo Graziani

No newsroom wants to be late for AI, but is that good news for the Global South?

Wafaa Albadry from The National News | Daria Minsky from the McCain Institute | Nakeema Stefflbauer from FrauenLoop | Jaemark Tordecilla from Puma Podcast

• Read Jaemark Tordecilla’s pieces for us on the AI tools he’s developed