Media leaders and technology experts deliberated on the future of digital journalism in the artificial intelligence era at the DNPA Conclave 2026 on Thursday. The panel discussion titled 'The New Economics of Content in the AI Age' was moderated by Puneet Jain, CEO of HT Digital Media, and focused on sustainability, trust and monetisation challenges facing publishers.
Speaking during the session, Marcus Pousette of Magnite highlighted concerns over revenue distribution in the digital ecosystem. He said premium news publishers are not being fairly compensated by major technology platforms and emphasised the need for publishers to actively build their own distribution channels to regain control over monetisation.
Industry voices on the panel stressed that the explosion of AI-driven content production makes credibility more critical than ever. Bharat Gupta, founder of ToBe and former CEO of Jagran New Media, underlined that publishers must prioritise trustworthy content and consider introducing trust as a measurable metric for the industry’s future.
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The discussion also featured insights from Toshit Panigrahi of TollBit, Gowthaman Ragothaman of Saptharushi and Aaron Rigby of Taboola, who examined evolving business models, AI-driven distribution and the economics of digital publishing.
The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) conclave aims to bring together policymakers, media leaders and industry specialists to discuss key developments in digital journalism and artificial intelligence. The event is focusing on regulatory frameworks, newsroom transformation, content monetisation and the broader economics of publishing in an AI-driven environment.
DNPA Chairperson Mariam Mammen Mathew stressed the need for collaboration, saying that as AI reshapes news, stakeholders must work together to build a framework rooted in trust and responsibility. Vice-Chairperson Puneet Gupta added that the future of digital journalism will depend on effectively aligning innovation with sustainability, fair value exchange and public interest.
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