What shifted at the International Journalism Festival 2026

International Journalism Festival 2026, AI in newsrooms, future of journalism, media innovation

There was a noticeable shift in tone at this year’s International Journalism Festival. Twelve months ago, many of the conversations in Perugia were shaped by uncertainty. AI was accelerating quickly, audience behaviours were fragmenting, and for many organisations the dominant question was how to respond without losing control of what made their journalism valuable.

This year felt different.

Across panels, side conversations and the in-between moments that often matter most, the mood had moved on. The language of disruption was still present, but it was no longer the defining narrative. In its place was something more constructive: a growing sense that while the challenges remain complex, the industry is beginning to understand how to work with them rather than react to them.

From uncertainty to intent

One of the most striking changes was not what was being discussed, but how it was being approached. AI is no longer framed as an emerging trend or an experimental space. For many of the organisations represented in Perugia, it is already embedded in day-to-day operations, from editorial workflows through to product development and audience engagement.

What has changed is the level of intent behind it.

Rather than asking where AI might fit, conversations are increasingly focused on where it adds value, how it integrates with existing systems, and what needs to be in place to make it sustainable over time. This shift from exploration to application is subtle, but significant. It reflects an industry that is beginning to move past the initial wave of curiosity and into something more structured and deliberate.

The real conversations are happening off-stage

As is often the case at the festival, some of the most valuable insights came from conversations away from the panels.

There is a growing recognition that many AI projects have struggled not because of the technology itself, but because of how they were introduced. Tools have been piloted, sometimes successfully, but without the workflows, governance or internal clarity needed to make them stick.

What emerged repeatedly was a shared challenge: organisations are not short of ideas or access to technology, but they are still working through how to embed these changes in a way that is practical, manageable and aligned with how their teams actually operate. This is where the gap between ambition and execution becomes most visible.

A more grounded optimism

What stood out across the week was a sense of (cautious!) optimism.

This is not a return to the kind of uncritical enthusiasm that has accompanied previous waves of innovation. Instead, it feels more grounded in experience. Many organisations have now tested, learned, and in some cases recalibrated their approach. They have a clearer understanding of both the potential and the limitations of AI, and that clarity is beginning to translate into more confident decision-making.

As Fergus Bell, Co-founder of Fathm, reflected during the week: “What felt different this year wasn’t just the technology, it was the mindset. There’s a growing confidence in the room, not because everything is solved, but because people are starting to understand what good looks like in practice. The conversation has shifted from reacting to change to shaping it.”

That shift in mindset matters. It suggests that the industry is beginning to move beyond the extremes of hype and hesitation, towards something more balanced and, ultimately, more useful.

What this means for the year ahead

The implications of this shift are already starting to take shape.

Firstly, we are likely to see fewer isolated experiments and more integrated approaches. AI will continue to be adopted, but increasingly as part of broader systems rather than standalone tools. This will place greater emphasis on strategy, process design and internal capability.

Secondly, clarity will become more important. As organisations move from testing to implementation, the ability to articulate what they are doing, why it matters, and how it works in practice will be a key differentiator, both internally and externally.

Finally, there is an opportunity for the industry to move beyond a reactive stance. The conversations in Perugia suggested that many organisations are no longer simply responding to external pressures but beginning to define their own direction within a rapidly changing landscape.

The signal beneath the noise

There is no shortage of commentary about the future of media. What felt different at this year’s festival was a growing ability to filter that noise into something more actionable. The conversations were still complex, and in many cases unresolved, but they were also more grounded in reality and more focused on what comes next.

For Fathm, the week reinforced something we are seeing consistently across our work with newsrooms and media organisations globally: progress is not coming from doing more, but from making clearer, more deliberate decisions about how to operate in a changing environment.

The shift from uncertainty to intent may not be dramatic, but it is meaningful. And if the conversations in Perugia are anything to go by, it is a shift that will define the year ahead.