Asian Publishers Week
Participant
Steffen Meier
Country : German
Company : DIGITAL PUBLISHING REPORT (dpr)
Job Title : Founder & Managing Director, DIGITAL PUBLISHING REPORT (dpr)
E-mail : info@digital-publishing-report.de or steffenmeier@gmx.net (private)
Work Experience in Publishing
I hold a degree in History, and over four decades in the media industry I have accompanied the publishing sector through every major shift of the digital era – from desktop publishing and the first digital production workflows to today’s transformation driven by artificial intelligence.
For much of my career I worked inside publishing houses, most often as head of the digital department in educational and professional publishing – the segments where digital transformation arrived earliest and ran deepest. To understand the technological side at first hand, I also spent time at a software company serving publishers, learning how publishing products are actually built rather than only how they are used.
As founder and managing director of DIGITAL PUBLISHING REPORT, I now combine analytical work – trend research, industry studies, critical technology assessment – with the practical work of running a media platform across e-journal, newsletters and digital events.
I also teach the subject I work on: I hold lectureships at three German universities on the “Digital Transformation of the Media.” This dual role – practitioner and educator, observer and operator – means I engage with the industry’s challenges not from the outside, but from within its daily reality.
Current Projects
Alongside the research, I run DIGITAL PUBLISHING REPORT as a working media platform – e-journal, newsletters and digital events – with a strong editorial focus on artificial intelligence and its impact on the industry.
A defining feature of my current work is that we apply AI in practice across our own operations, not merely write about it: in editorial production, in the organisation of our events, and in marketing. This hands-on use gives me a grounded, realistic view of where AI genuinely helps, where it falls short, and what it takes to deploy it responsibly – a perspective I bring to every conversation about AI and publishing.
Experience with Asian Publishing Business
Some years ago I was also sent abroad by the Goethe-Institut and the Frankfurt Book Fair to work in several of these countries, which deepened my understanding of how publishing markets differ and how digital transformation plays out under very different conditions.
With Asian markets specifically, my engagement so far has been through this same channel of international professional exchange rather than direct deals. I follow developments in the region with genuine interest – particularly its leadership in digital platforms and mobile-first reading formats. Asian Publishers Week would be a natural next step: the opportunity to turn a dialogue I already value at a distance into direct, in-person relationships.
Experience Related to This Year’s Topic
On the research side, the Publishing Technology Radar (PTR) systematically maps how AI and adjacent technologies are reshaping the publishing value chain. Drawing on some twenty senior international expert interviews, it produces a structured trend catalogue assessed against a maturity model across publishing segments – giving publishers an evidence-based map rather than anecdote.
On the practical side, DIGITAL PUBLISHING REPORT applies AI across its own operations: in editorial production, in the organisation of our digital events, and in marketing. Running a media platform that uses these tools daily gives me first-hand insight into their real strengths and limits – something quite different from commenting on AI from the outside.
I also track the field’s defining legal and market developments closely – publisher lawsuits against AI companies, landmark settlements, the reliability of AI-detection tools, and major market outlooks – always tested against primary documentation rather than second-hand reporting. And through my lectureships on the Digital Transformation of the Media at three German universities, I work through these questions with the next generation of media professionals.
My consistent position is that publishing needs neither hype nor panic, but informed judgement: using AI where it genuinely helps, resisting it where it erodes quality, trust, or the rights of creators – and building the knowledge to tell the difference.
The dominant risk in the current debate is the unauthorised use of copyrighted works to train AI systems. German and European publishers, alongside authors’ organisations, have been vocal, and the sector is watching closely as publishers pursue legal action against AI companies and as landmark settlements abroad set precedents. The EU AI Act adds a regulatory layer that no other region is implementing at the same speed, making Europe a natural test case for AI governance in publishing – a point of genuine
interest for international exchange.
A second concern is quality and trust. The market has already seen the damage low-quality AI output can do: AI-generated “junk” titles on retail platforms, unreliable AI-detection tools, and the reputational risk of unverified AI content. This has made editorial accountability central.
On the opportunity side, German publishers are moving from experimentation to structured adoption – in editorial workflows, metadata and discovery, translation, accessibility, and reader engagement. Research such as the Publishing Technology Radar shows adoption maturing unevenly across segments, with educational and professional publishing often ahead of trade.
The prevailing mood is neither the enthusiasm of some markets nor outright rejection, but a demand for evidence, rights protection, and sustainable business models. That combination of caution and pragmatism is, I believe, a valuable contribution to a pan-Asian dialogue.
What would you like to discuss related to this year’s topic?
On content production, I want to move the conversation beyond “AI yes or no” toward the practical question every publisher now faces: how do you actually integrate AI across the value chain – from editorial work to marketing and events – without sacrificing quality, accuracy, and trust? Because we use these tools daily at DIGITAL PUBLISHING REPORT, I can speak from direct operational experience about where the real gains lie and where human judgement remains irreplaceable.
On copyright and licensing, I would like to compare how different regions are responding to the training- data question – from European regulation and litigation to emerging licensing models – and what a fair, workable framework for publishers might look like.
Above all, I hope to exchange evidence rather than opinion, and to learn how Asian markets are navigating the same tensions, often at greater speed.
Connection to Korean Publishing
I am less focused on meeting one specific company than on a broader exchange. Above all, I would like to understand the Korean publishing market itself – its structure, its dynamics, and its distinctive strengths – and to discuss in depth how Korean publishing houses are actually deploying AI in their day-to-day work: in editorial processes, production, discovery, and reader engagement. I would welcome conversations with publishers of any segment who are actively experimenting with or implementing AI, as well as with organisations shaping the wider strategic and policy debate around AI in Korean publishing.
Your reasons for applying to Asian Publishers Week 2026.
I am applying to Asian Publishers Week 2026 because its theme – Publishing in the Era of AI: Between Crisis and Opportunity – is precisely the question I work on every day, and because the answers to it cannot be found within any single region.
AI governance, copyright frameworks, and market adoption are evolving at very different speeds across the world. Europe is moving fast on regulation; parts of Asia are moving fast on product and platform innovation. Having built an international network across the US, the UK, South America and the Middle East, I have seen how much publishers gain by learning from one another rather than working in isolation – and I would value the chance to contribute a European perspective while learning directly how Asian markets are responding.
After four decades in the media industry, and as someone who both runs a media platform and teaches the digital transformation of the media, I have learned to distinguish structural change from hype. I would bring that perspective, along with concrete experience of using AI in practice, and I would return to the German-speaking market with insights to share through dpr’s channels. This is exactly the kind of mutual, evidence-based exchange the programme is designed to create.
Your Company Profile DIGITAL PUBLISHING REPORT (dpr)
Company Name: DIGITAL PUBLISHING REPORT (dpr)
Company Address: An der Baldinger Mauer 40, D-86720 Nördlingen, Germany
Number of Employees: 8
Specialty: Media platform for digital transformation in the publishing and media
DIGITAL PUBLISHING REPORT (dpr) is a media platform dedicated to digital transformation in the publishing and media industry. Originally founded for the German-speaking market, it has expanded its reach internationally over recent years and now serves a growing audience beyond German-speaking countries.
dpr operates across several formats. A monthly e-journal delivers in-depth analysis of industry trends, technology, and strategy. Regular newsletters keep the professional community up to date on the fast- moving developments shaping the field, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence. And through its
digital events, dpr brings publishing professionals together for exchange, learning, and debate.
Beyond its editorial work, dpr acts as a research and editorial partner on industry projects. A current example is the Publishing Technology Radar (PTR), a structured, multi-stage study mapping the technology trends that will shape publishing, based on senior international expert interviews and quantitative validation across publishing segments.
What distinguishes dpr is its combination of journalistic independence, deep industry knowledge, and a hands-on, practical orientation. dpr does not simply report on digital transformation; it uses these technologies itself across its own operations – from editorial work to event organisation and marketing – and speaks about them from direct experience.
With a readership spanning trade, educational and professional publishing, print and media businesses, dpr sits at the centre of the German-language publishing conversation while maintaining an expanding network of international contacts across the United States, the United Kingdom, South America, and the Middle East.