In collaboration with:

Running a modern newsroom is fast, high-pressure, and unforgiving. Yet, in today’s relentless news cycle, many publishers are weighed down by fragmented technology stacks that slow editorial efficiency. Journalists spend too much time battling tools instead of breaking stories, while stitched-together systems fail to scale when it matters most.

This breakfast briefing on Thursday 16 April (9am-11am) involved WP Engine and XWP taking an honest look at the day-to-day realities of editorial workflow – the bottlenecks, the friction, and the tools that are finally starting to solve them.

Following WP Engine and XWP’s front-line insights from working with clients, there was an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning around the table during a structured discussion. This was the perfect opportunity for publishers to collaborate with peers, learn from their challenges, and ask burning questions.

Speakers

Nici Catton,
Chief Delivery Officer, XWP

Nici has spent nearly two decades working in and around newsrooms, most recently as SVP of Product Delivery at Penske Media Corporation, where she led digital publishing platforms for Rolling Stone, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, and more. Earlier in her career, she ran CMS rollouts at the BBC World Service. Now serving as Chief Delivery Officer at XWP, she helps publishers modernise their editorial technology without sacrificing the speed and agility newsrooms demand.

She specialises in bridging the persistent gap between editorial ambition and technical reality – understanding both why journalists need to move fast and how technology needs to adapt to real-life demands.

Jason Konen,
Product Director, WP Engine

Jason is a former developer turned product leader, passionate about driving innovation through customer insights. At WP Engine, he leads Product for their Newsroom offering, shaping the future of how editors and content creators work inside and outside of WordPress.

With experience leading product and development teams, Jason thrives at the intersection of technology and customer needs.

Moderator

Mel McVeigh,
Strategic Consultant (Digital Product), PPA

Mel is a product and technology leader with creative DNA launching digital products across converging worlds – storytelling and commerce.

Mel leads major digital transformation programmes, reimagining digital customer experiences to reach the widest global audience with inspiration and delight.

In her previous role, she was VP Consumer Product at Condé Nast. She led the digital portfolio across nine brands in 11 markets: Vogue, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller, Architectural Digest, House + Garden, World of Interiors, Allure, SELF, Glamour. She was also responsible for the e-Commerce Platform – Retail Media, Storefront, and Affiliate.

What did attendees learn?

See the future of editorial workflow in action

WP Engine Newsroom is designed from the ground up for how newsrooms actually work. This was attendees first look at what that means in practice and why it improves the day-to-day operations for journalists and editors alike.

Enhanced editorial and operations alignment 

Fragmented tools slow everyone down. Our breakfast briefing showed how WP Engine is closing the gap between editorial and operations, so writers, editors, and strategists are all working in one ecosystem.

Optimising workflow for performance

When technology works, editorial teams get time back. Real examples of how purpose-built editorial tools remove the bottlenecks that eat into the newsroom’s day.

A clear next step for your editorial operations

Whether evaluating platforms, rethinking your editorial stack, or planning for growth, attendees left with practical and actionable takeaways to bring back to their teams.

Who attended?

Those whose websites are currently hosted on WordPress, those who were thinking about migrating, or those who wanted to learn more about the future of editorial workflow.