Insights from Funke Mediengruppe and Hamburger Abendblatt have told how the German daily coped with a cyber attack last year.

In a virtual format this year, guests at systems developer ppi Media’s Days event heard from Hamburger Abendblatt deputy editor-in-chief Berndt Röttger and Torsten Landmesser of parent Funke Mediengruppe.

A small magazine project incolving ppi’s Content-X editorial system became a lifeline for the daily newspaper when the attack hit.

About 80 representatives from German-speaking media gathered for the event on June 7, hosted by managing directors Hauke Berndt and Manuel Scheyda.

Othr speakers included Team Beverage’s Nicolas Sonnenberg on their hyperlocal social media marketing campaigns, and Torsten Wiethe Nürnberger Presse on their use of a self-service advertising portal, “sparking a turnaround in advertising during the pandemic”.

A focus on current strategies and important developments in the media industry was followed by Sinnborn’s Peter Buhr on the use of AI in newsrooms, and Saskia Mayer of Südkurier on how the publishing house now frequently sells more digital subscriptions in a day than it used to sell in a whole month.

Hauke Berndt says the digital event went down well “despite the fact that our customers have been overloaded with digital conferences in recent months.

“Nevertheless, we look forward to holding a real live event again next year and being reunited with our international customers”.