If you’re looking for trends, there is no better place to start than World Press Trends, and WAN-IFRA CEO Vincent Peyrègne kicked off the business part of #WNC16 with the highlights from the report. Mobile is front and centre with 1.4 billion smartphones shipping in 2015. And there is one crucial stat we have often neglected in the publishing industry: “App usage in the US represents 75% of mobile engagement”.

Facebook long ago realised the value of the app, despite a brief and ill-advised embrace of HTML5 only. Speed, geo-location, dedicated ad formats – there are many reasons to prioritise your app. But have you thought about how it makes money?

Of course we’ll be asking Lisa exactly that question when she speaks at about Times Media Group’s brand new paid content project at Digital Media Africa later this year.

But perhaps it is unfair to blame top media execs for this oversight when they all have their eyes on another prize: VR.

The photo above is from the Virtual Reality Gets Real workshop – where participants explored the opportunities for VR – and how to differentiate AR from 360 video.

While 360 video can be as simple as hooking up a Ricoh Theta, the business case for true VR is still in development. Creating engaging content will certainly be much more expensive than for last year’s trending platform, the wearable.

Meanwhile there is not much love for display advertising.

Of course the debate is more nuanced. Users are actually pretty responsive to well-placed static images, especially on mobile.

But if display dips, then where is the money?

Over here! Hello, did you hear me? Over here!

What you need is a platform that is really excellent for storytelling, so you can do a really good job for your new branded sponsors. Which takes us back to VR.

But the World News Media Congress is just getting started, so check back here to see how the story develops. And yes, we will have some 360 video later!