Traditional, New Media Come Together at World Press Meetings
Paris, 25 January 2006 - Wikipedia is not usually mentioned in the same breath as leading newspaper companies such as News International or Axel Springer, but they will come together in Moscow in June at the 59th World Newspaper Congress, 13th World Editors Forum, and Info Services Expo 2006, the global meetings of the world's press.
The events, organized by the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, will bring together leading executives and companies from both the traditional and new media worlds. First speakers announced for the programmes include Jimmy Wales, Director and Founder of the on-line, participatory encyclopaedia Wikipedia, Les Hinton, Chairman of News International, and Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer.
Mr Hinton and Mr Döpfner will be speaking at the World Newspaper Congress, which focuses on strategy and innovation in the newspaper industry. Mr Wales is part of the Editors newspaper Forum, which runs concurrently with the Congress and will provide a perspective for newspaper editors seeking ways to attract readers who are accustomed to getting news for free. The Editors Forum will particularly focus on new media initiatives this year.
The events, along with Info Services Expo 2006 -- an exhibition of the latest products and services from suppliers to the newspaper industry -- will be held from 4 to 7 June in Moscow. Full programme details, registration information and the evolving participation list can be found at the new Moscow 2006 web site at http://www.moscow2006.com/
At least 1,500 newspaper publishers, CEOs, managing directors, chief editors, other senior executives and their guests, from all over the world, are expected to attend.
Other confirmed Congress speakers include: Carolyn McCall, Managing Director, The Guardian, United Kingdom; Michael Grabner, Deputy Chairman, Verlagsgruppe von Hotzbrinck, Germany; Martin Kall, Chairman of the Management Board and Head of Newspapers Division, Tamedia, Switzerland; Mikael Pentikäinen, President, Sanoma Corporation, Finland; Piotr Niemczycki, Vice-President of the Management Board, Agora, Poland; Sanjay Gupta, Editor & CEO, Dainik Jagran, India; Agustin Edwards, Director General, Las Ultimas Noticias, Chile; and Katie Vanneck, Group Marketing Director, Telegraph Group, United Kingdom.
Other Forum speakers include: Steve Herrmann, Editor-in-Chief, BBC News Interactive, United Kingdom; George Brock, Saturday Editor of The Times of London and President of World Editors Forum; Dean Wright, Senior Vice President and Managing Editor of Consumer Services for Reuters; Rüdiger Gramsch, Editor-in-Chief of Neue Württembergische Zeitung in Germany; Steve Yelvington, Vice President of Content and Strategy, Morris Digital Works, USA; Ari Valjakka, Editor-in-Chief, Turun Sanomat, Finland; Hans Engell, Editor-in Chief, Ekstra Bladet, Denmark; Jim Brady, Executive Director, washingtonpost.com, USA; Simon Targett, Editor, FT.com, United Kingdom; Sanjay Trehan, Head of Broadband, Times of India; Andrei Richter, Director of the Moscow Media Law and Policy Institute; Eli Noam, Professor of Economics and Finance, Columbia University, USA; and Priit Hobemägi, Editor-in-Chief of Eesti Päevaleth, Estonia.
The events will also give a first-hand view of Russia at a time of doubts about the Kremlin's commitment to democratic development and press freedom. President Vladimir Putin will address the opening and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will be among the guest speakers, who will also include opposition personalities.
"Our plans are advancing well and a certain excitement is clearly building up in Russia about the conferences," said Timothy Balding, Chief Executive Officer of the World Association of Newspapers.
"The Congress and Forum will take place shortly before the first G8 summit to be hosted in Russia, so there really isn't a more topical place to have our meetings at that time," he said. "Hundreds of publishers and editors from all over Russia are expected to join us for the events; for many of them, this will be a unique opportunity to meet their colleagues in the world's press and to share views about both business issues and press freedom in the country."
The Congress and Forum will open in the Kremlin State Palace. The conferences themselves will take place in the Manege exhibition hall, just by the walls of the Kremlin.
The Congress programme will feature four sessions on different kinds of innovation -- in products, in strategy, in processes and in digital development -- and a fifth session on the WAN Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project, which identifies, analyses and publicises all important operational and strategic developments that can benefit the future of newspapers.
The SFN session will examine: new products and business models, including the alternative pricing strategies that are responding to the evolving demands of both readers and advertisers; the 'revolution' in the culture and operations of newspaper organizations, as publishers improve their efficiency and flexibility, with new structures and greater use of outsourcing; and the changing nature of news and media usage, driven by interactivity, blogs and mobile communications.
Delegates will also receive the annual update of world trends in the newspaper industry and the yearly Global Report on Innovations in Newspapers.
As in past years, the Congress and Forum will also feature a wide array of social events, including a welcome party and concert at the Moscow International Music House, sponsored by the city government, an evening of Russian folklore, and the annual gala dinner. A post-conference tour to Saint Petersburg is also available.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 73 national newspaper associations, newspapers and newspaper executives in 102 countries, 11 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups.
Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr
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