Journalists’ Congress 2027 Save the date 12 & 13 November 2027

Venue and programme to follow

Association for Independent Journalism

Two days of exchange, networking and independent journalism.

Missed it? All panels from 2026
watch the recordings

The next Journalists’ Congress will take place on 12 and 13 November 2027. As soon as the venue and programme are confirmed, we will share them in our newsletter.

Looking back at 2026: Programme 2026 and the press release on the Journalists’ Congress 2026 (German)

About us

UJ – the Association for Independent Journalism, based in St. Gallen, is committed to freedom of expression and to critical, independent journalism in Switzerland and abroad. We promote press freedom and the right to free speech.

To this end, we provide information, organise events and congresses, and connect media professionals from all over Europe. The association is non-partisan, independent of political parties and governments, and acts on free, democratic principles.

We are not commercially active and not profit-oriented.

Board

Programme 2026 – review

Friday, 16 October 2026

09:15
Doors open, registration, coffee
10:00
Welcome and introduction of the associationRonnie Grob (UJ Association, President), Lucas Ammann (UJ Association, Board), Hannes Kirchbaumer (UJ Association, Board)
10:10
Why I am a journalistLaura Sachslehner (exxpress)
10:30
Why I am a journalistMatthias Zehnder (Edito)
10:50
Why I am a journalistAnna Schneider (WELT)
11:20
Panel: Investigative journalism Moderator: Marcus Hebein (Wirtschaftsjournalist:in) Leo Eiholzer (NZZ am Sonntag), Michèle Binswanger (Nebelspalter), Nikolaus Frings (Kronen Zeitung), Janik Leuenberger (Blick)
12:00
Standing lunch and coffee
13:30
Panel: Public service broadcasting Moderator: Lucas Ammann (UJ Association, Board) Alexander Teske (freelance journalist and author), Clemens Oistric (Heute), Tarek Leitner (ORF), Michael Perricone (journalist)
14:40
Why radio, still?Burkhard Müller-Ullrich (Kontrafunk)
15:00
Capital-city journalism: do conservatives stand a chance?Jana Hermann (Berliner Zeitung)
15:30
Media criticism today – crows that won't peck each otherKurt W. Zimmermann (media columnist, Weltwoche)
16:00
Coffee
16:20
How to go independent in 2026 with a donation-funded mediumJan Karon (GLUT)
16:40
Domestic policy journalism in Austria: between outrage and headlinesNikolaus Frings (Kronen Zeitung)
17:00
Panel: Young journalists – how they can have a future Moderator: Camille Lothe (Nebelspalter) Max Mannhart (Apollo News), Jana Hermann (Berliner Zeitung), Anna Schneider (WELT), Roman Zeller (Weltwoche)
18:00
Aperitif
19:00
Satirical impulse talk on opinion-forming on social mediaLukas and Tom (0Punkt)
19:30
Evening panel discussion: Is the daily newspaper already dead? Moderator: Matthias Ackeret (persoenlich.com) Patrik Müller (CH Media), Rolf Cavalli (Blick), Eric Gujer (NZZ), Rainer Nowak (Die Presse)
20:45
Wind-down and drinks
22:00
Close

Saturday, 17 October 2026

Workshops, 10:00 to 14:00 at the latest

Building a digital communityHannes Kirchbaumer (UJ Association, Board) · Room 8
AI will not replace journalists. Journalists with AI will.Markus Keiblinger (Texterous) · Room 9
Making the most of social media as a mediumVadim Derksen (Junge Freiheit) · Room 10

The workshops run in parallel. Participation requires a confirmed registration.