11 Years Strong. 100+ Media Leaders.
One Must-Attend Event.
11 Years Strong.
100+ Media Leaders.
One Must-Attend Event.
Join decision-makers shaping the strategy behind audience growth, newsroom transformation, subscriptions, and revenue.
This is more than a conference—it's a gathering of forward-thinking leaders trading ideas, tackling tough questions, and building what's next. From practical insights to peer connections, the agenda is built to spark actions—and help publishers lead with confidence in a rapidly changing world.
Where Publishing Leaders Power the Future
For the past decade, the Mather Symposium has been the premier gathering for media professionals across North America. This annual event brings together 100+ industry peers to explore data-driven strategies, innovative ideas, and the future of news through impactful conversations and real-world insights.
20+ Leaders On Stage
Actionable Strategies
Publisher Case Studies
Industry Benchmarks & Trends
Networking Opportunities
Featured Speakers
We’re excited to reveal our newest confirmed speakers,
with more to be announced soon as we round out an incredible lineup!

Phil Andraos
General Manager
Reuters Digital

Antoine Amann
Founder and CEO
Echobox

Nick Baxter
SVP of Yield
Benzinga

Mark Bigault
Head of Customer Experience
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thomas Brown
VP Consumer Revenue
Boston Globe Media

Ariel Burkett
VP, Global Sales and Marketing
Mather

Brian Connolly
Chief Innovation Officer
National Trust for Local News

Kelli Dakake
VP of Digital Subscriptions
Hearst

Nini Diana
Director of Consumer Marketing
Harvard Business Review

Pete Doucette
Sr. Managing Director
Mather

Dominic Easter
Commerical Director
Pugpig

Matt Gent
Head of Growth Strategic Client Engagement
Admiral

James Henderson
Founder & CEO
MonetizationOS Ltd

Brooke Hunziker
Chief of Staff
Mather

Matt Lindsay
President & CEO
Mather

Luke Magerko
Director, Consulting
Mather

Rodney Mahone
Chief Revenue Officer
Chronicle of Philanthropy

Ryan McVeigh
Sr. Director Consumer Revenue
Boston Globe Media
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Michelle Micone
Chief Marketing and Strategic Initiatives Officer
Boston Globe Media

Grant Moise
CEO & Publisher
The Dallas Morning News

Charlotte Parker
Director of Customer Success
PageSuite

Irina Platonova
SVP, Marketing & Product
Daily Racing Form

Nicki Purcell (Emcee)
Chief Technology Officer
Morgan's

Scott Rogerson
CEO
UpContent

Charles Rosenblatt
CEO
Butter Payments

Allison Shirk
VP, Content and Newsroom Strategy
WEHCO Media

Stacy Spikes
Co-Founder and CEO
MoviePass

Jemal Swoboda
VP of Product and Growth
Brit + Co

Britni Tomcho
VP, Digital Consumer Revenue
WEHCO Media

Arvid Tchivzhel
Senior Vice President
Mather

Darya Ushakova
CMO
The Philadelphia Inquirer

Erin Valois
Vice President, Product and Strategy
Postmedia Network Inc.

Jon VanZomeren
Director, Consumer Data Management
Advance Local

Grant Whitmore
VP, Ad Technology and Programmatic Revenue
Advance Local

Mark Zohar
President and CEO
Viafoura
Agenda
Stay tuned - More information coming soon!
Thursday, February 26th
Dallas Morning News HQ (DMN) followed by Mirador Dallas
Map to DMN | Map to MIRADOR (Group Dinner)
Sip, connect, and spark new ideas over coffee and pastries before we kick-off the Symposium!
Speaker Details
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Take a moment to recharge, network, and exchange insights with fellow attendees.
Grab a coffee, stretch your legs, and get ready for the next session!
Dive into 3x15, a fast-paced showcase of innovative strategies and real-world case studies from four unique publishers.
How Hearst Is Powering Growth with Intelligent, Lifecycle-Based Pricing
In a rapidly evolving industry, one-off pricing discussions aren’t enough anymore. In this session you’ll learn how leading organizations are shifting to intelligent pricing systems that consider acquisition, renewal and retention to drive sustainable growth. We’ll walk you through how behavioral insights, elasticity modelling and lifecycle pricing come together to help publishers unlock subscriber value and stay ahead of churn
Smarter Renewals in Action: Boston Globe’s Dynamic Pricing Evolution
Tom Brown and Ryan McVeigh of The Boston Globe will discuss how a shift to dynamic, reader-focused renewal pricing is helping power stronger subscriber relationships and a more resilient digital revenue engine.
From Static Rules to AI-Driven Yield Optimization
Benzinga, founded in 2009 and reaching more than 25 million investors each month, operates in a high velocity financial news environment where both subscription growth and advertising revenue are critical. In this session, Nick Baxter, SVP of Yield, shares how Benzinga evolved its paywall strategy to grow subscriptions, while protecting traffic volume.
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Enjoy a well-deserved break to refuel and connect with fellow attendees.
Take this time to network, share insights, and recharge before the afternoon sessions!
Dive into 3x15, a fast-paced showcase of innovative strategies and real-world case studies from three unique publishers.
The Boston Globe’s Audience Strategy for the Era of Google Zero
As Google Zero continues to redefine how audiences discover, engage with, and value digital content, publishers and consumer-facing organizations are rethinking their strategies to keep pace. In this session, Michelle Micone will share how The Boston Globe is navigating these changes—what they’re learning, how they’re adapting, and what the rest of us should be paying attention to as the platform evolves.
Brand Strategy for the Misinformation Era: The Reuters Approach
Phil Andraos will share how Reuters Digital is reshaping its brand strategy to focus on trust, reach new audiences, and stand out in an era of growing misinformation. He’ll walk through the development of their recent brand marketing campaign, highlight early results, and offer practical takeaways for publishers looking to clarify their value proposition and communicate credibility in an increasingly crowded market.
Welcome to Your 2025 Paper Route with WEHCO Media
Inspired by end-of-year “wraps,” WEHCO’s small but determined digital consumer revenue team launched Paper Route, a personalized, interactive experience for subscribers that matched readers with a newsroom persona based on their reading habits.In this round, we’ll share the good, bad and ugly of building a data-heavy subscriber experience across systems that don’t always play nicely together and why, despite the challenges, it was absolutely worth it.
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Take a moment to recharge, network, and exchange insights with fellow attendees.
Grab a coffee, stretch your legs, and get ready for the next session!
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Programmatic advertising remains a core revenue channel for publishers. In this session, Grant Whitmore of Advance will outline three key levers publishers can use to improve programmatic CPMs. The discussion will focus on strengthening the fundamentals that influence yield and how intentional changes can drive more consistent performance over time.
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You’ve adapted your revenue model multiple times—but the rules have shifted again. Rising costs, fragmented audiences, and AI systems consuming journalism without returning meaningful traffic have fundamentally altered the economics of publishing. As the web’s long-standing value exchange breaks down, monetizing all traffic – human and machine – has become more important than ever. In this session, we’ll explore how publishers can shift from defense to offense by strengthening their tech stack and strategy to compete and grow in today’s market. The session will also mark the launch of a new solution from Mather designed to help publishers turn AI disruption into a competitive revenue advantage.
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A big thank you to our dinner sponsors!






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As AI Overviews, declining social reach, and shrinking referral traffic reshape the digital media ecosystem, publishers must reimagine how they connect with audiences. This session explores why direct relationships—built through on-site engagement, first-party data, personalization, and owned community experiences—are no longer just a growth strategy, but a core requirement for long-term sustainability.
Join Viafoura CEO Mark Zohar and Erin Valois, Vice President of Product and Strategy at Postmedia Network, for a practical discussion on:
- How publishers can future-proof their business against third-party platform volatility
- What’s working today to drive registration, retention, and revenue through direct channels
- Real-world publisher examples of engagement tools that convert visitors into loyal audiences
- Strategic frameworks for navigating “Google Zero” and the rise of generative search
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Grab a coffee, stretch your legs, and get ready for the next session!
Speaker Details
Speaker details to be announced soon.
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Additional speaker details to be announced soon.
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Set in the Heart of Dallas
We’re thrilled to once again partner with our long-time client, The Dallas Morning News, who will host next year’s event at their historic headquarters in downtown Dallas.
Formerly the city’s Central Public Library and now a vibrant hub for media and innovation, this iconic venue offers the perfect backdrop for bringing the industry together.
Find it on the map: 1954 Commerce St, Dallas

This event is reserved exclusively for publishing professionals.
Each ticket includes full access to two days of
sessions plus all after-hours networking events.
Plan Your Trip
Transportation

Nearest Airport
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
(40-minute drive to venue)

By Subway
Closest DART station: St. Paul (Orange Line)
(7-minute walk to venue)
Meet Our Symposium Sponsors
Admiral is a Visitor Relationship Management (VRM) platform that helps publishers grow revenue by recovering adblock losses, launching subscriptions and donations, collecting first-party data, and engaging visitors—all through a single, no-code tag.
Arc XP is a comprehensive digital experience platform developed by The Washington Post. It empowers publishers and brands to seamlessly manage content, subscriptions, e-commerce, and audience engagement—delivering personalized, scalable experiences across all digital channels.



Pugpig is the leading mobile publishing platform powering 400 apps for over 150 publishers globally spanning news media, consumer magazines and business media. Their platform allows media brands to launch deeply engaging mobile apps that significantly drive up reader revenue and retention.

Viafoura is a digital engagement platform that helps publishers build and manage on-site communities with tools like real-time commenting, live chats, personalized feeds, and AI-powered moderation. It drives user interaction, registrations, and subscriptions, while providing valuable first-party data and audience insights. Viafoura integrates easily with existing systems, giving publishers full control over the user experience and community standards.























Wednesday, February 25th




