The role of news media as the watchdog of broader freedoms – a platform for critical thinking and debate at a time when journalism is most challenged – underlies a New Year commentary from WAN-Ifra chief executive Vincent Peyrègne.

“More than ever, the issues affecting media are crucial for wider society,” he says, pointing to challenges as the intersection between tech and society and its implication for the sustainability of journalism is clearer than ever.

“Our mission to defend and promote press freedom and the economic independence of news publishers as an essential condition of that freedom has never been more relevant.”

Achievements during 2022 included the participation of a record more than 11,000 media professionals in more than 120 countries in international and regional events, webinars and training and coaching series. “The constant number of new members joining us echoed our encouraging participation figures for our events,” he says.

In 2023, several strategic “communities of practice” will receive greater emphasis: the Digital Revenue Network, the Data Science Group, the World Editors Forum, Women in News, the World Printers Forum and the Global Alliance for Media Innovation.

Focus areas include: audience-first newsrooms; retention and the adjusted revenue mix; organisational transformation; print sustainability; and solidarity to support press freedom.

Events in the coming year include the Taipei World News Media Congress on June 28-30, a series of Digital Media conferences in Europe (Vienna, April 26-27), Latin America (Mexico, May 17-18), India (New Dehli, March 16-17), Africa (September 13-14), Asia (Singapore, October 19-20) and the Middle East (November 8-9), the Newsroom Summit (Oslo, October 24-25), the World Printers Summit (Frankfurt, October 10-11), and 15 major regional conferences and webinars.

WAN-Ifra is launching a new online resource centre to make content year more easily accessible, and several sector-specific transformation programmes – including Table Stakes and Stars4Media – are to be made available.

“A year passes like a blink in the history of a 70-year young organisation,” Peyrègne says. “But it’s astonishing what can be achieved in just twelve months with the outstanding support of a passionate team and committed membership.”