Publix again a partner of the BEYOND NEWS conference: Young media professionals meet decision-makers
The ARD initiative BEYOND NEWS enters its second round. On 1 and 2 October 2026, young journalists from various media organisations will meet industry decision-makers in Bonn. Together they look for answers to the questions occupying newsrooms across Germany: from standards for artificial intelligence and new funding models to audience trust.
This year, the conference "BEYOND NEWS – Journalismus neu denken" brings both sides together: the generation making tomorrow's journalism, and the leadership levels deciding on structures and budgets.
The basis is a position paper. At a first conference in Hamburg in November 2025, 150 young media professionals drew up demands for the journalism of tomorrow. The conference produced a network that has been carrying these demands into the industry ever since, among others at the Medientage Mitteldeutschland and re:publica.
"The demands from Hamburg are not sitting in a drawer. Now the people who wrote them are meeting the people who can change something," says ARD chairman Florian Hager. "How do we reach young people? How can quality journalism hold its own alongside big tech and the large platforms? We need shared answers to these questions, and that involves private broadcasters just as much as publishing houses, media policy and us at ARD."
From position paper to pilot project
Now it gets concrete: newsrooms present best cases from their daily work. Media organisations take on sponsorships for individual topics. Participants then develop pilot ideas on the demands in mixed teams, ranging from staffing structures and training paths to formats and technical tools. The ideas are then tested in the media organisations.
BEYOND NEWS is a conference, an initiative and a network at the same time. It brings together journalists from public service, private and non-profit media, because all organisations face the same challenges and can only meet them together.
Partners of BEYOND NEWS 2026
Host and initiative partner of the 2026 conference is Deutsche Welle in Bonn. The organiser is ARD; Holtzbrinck Berlin handles the operational side. Further initiative partners supporting the conference are Publix, the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS, ARD Kultur, dpa, the Fazit-Stiftung, the ZEIT Verlagsgruppe and IPPEN.MEDIA. ZDF joins as cooperation partner. Network partners are CORRECTIV, Initiative18, the Handelsblatt and RTL Deutschland/RTL Nord.
More on BEYOND NEWS at ARD.de: www.beyond-news.ard.de
