NPA Summit 2026
From Reaction to Readiness: Audience Intelligence as AI Infrastructure for News
October X–Z, 2026 | City, Country
The NPA Summit returns in person in 2026, taking place on October X–Z in City, Country!
The Summit is the News Product Alliance’s global convening for senior leaders shaping the future of news products, bringing together decision-makers across product, audience, technology, revenue, and editorial to move beyond trend-watching and into execution.
AI is reshaping how news is produced, discovered, and monetized—but most organizations are still stuck reacting to new tools, shifting platforms, and unstable audience attention. This year’s Summit is about moving from experimentation to preparedness: building the audience intelligence and AI infrastructure that modern news organizations need to operate with clarity, resilience, and control. By treating first-party audience data, insight workflows, and responsible AI systems as core infrastructure—not optional add-ons—leaders can make smarter decisions, strengthen trust, and create sustainable models that don’t depend on any single platform or moment of attention.
Designed for leaders responsible for strategy, systems, and organizational change, the NPA Summit prioritizes depth over scale, peer-level exchange, and practical decision frameworks that can be applied inside newsrooms immediately.
“One of the best conferences I’ve been to. Practical while still being inspiring.”
“Just about every session felt both actionable and realistic.”
“An unusually collaborative event where people could openly share what’s worked for them.”
“The most impactful community event I’ve been to. I left with concrete ideas to apply immediately.”
“A rare space where strategic conversations go beyond theory and into real decisions.”
“The return on investment (ROI) was insane.”
About the NPA Summit
The NPA Summit is a high-impact, in-person gathering for professionals driving news product strategy and execution—whether or not “product” is in their title.
Purpose-built for leaders working across editorial, audience, business, and technology, the Summit is not a traditional industry conference. It is a working convening designed to help participants sharpen strategic judgment, pressure-test assumptions, and learn from peers navigating similar organizational challenges.
The 2025 edition, held in Chicago, convened 400+ leaders from legacy publishers, local and nonprofit newsrooms, startups, and technology partners. Sessions focused on:
Operationalizing audience insights
Redefining editorial–product collaboration
Preparing for AI’s impact on user relationships and trust
Across the program, the emphasis was on real-world application, shared learning, and candid discussion, creating a high-trust environment where leaders could engage deeply with both ideas and peers.
