Newspapers need to be more creative and more innovative. They need to increase the links between print and electronic media.

But they also need to protect their interests when threatened by legislation or unfair competition, Mr Benito said in his welcome address.

"I believe newspapers can compete with other media, but to be effective we have to shore up our own work around the world," he says.

He provided two examples; the "Television Without Borders" directive before the European Union, which is seen by European publishers are being a threat to freedom of the press and self-regulation (the directive proposes that certain broadcast regulations be extended to the internet); and preferential distribution practices that favour free newspapers over paid-for titles (in some countries, paid-for newspapers are relegated to kiosks while free newspapers can be distributed everywhere).

Mr Benito also spoke about the need for better information about the value of newspapers to readers and advertisers alike. "We are at a crossroads," he says. "It is a period of research and analysis. The more we have, the stronger we will be."

What Does the Future Hold for the Newspaper Business?

Mr Byrne began his keynote speech by presenting the opinions of a variety of industry leaders and publications on the future of the newspaper business. These included the infamous Economist headline, "Who Killed the Newspaper?"

"Which is nonsense, but much talked about nonsense," says Mr Byrne. "And these wild ideas are gaining credence and ground in some places."

Other opinions were more reasonable, but they had a problem too. "Everyone has an opinion about the future of newspapers, but nobody agrees."

The trouble is, "the future is too fluid, too fraught with variables, to get an accurate handle on it." It is better, he says, to concentrate on what can be done now to ensure a profitable future.

Using data from the World Association of Newspaper’s World Press Trends report and from its Shaping the Future of the Newspaper research project, Mr Byrne examined the state of the industry and the innovative trends that newspapers are pursuing to succeed in a disruptive media environment.

Newspapers make up a 180-billion-dollar global industry, with at least 1.2 billion readers a day. There are nearly 7,700 paid-for daily titles worldwide, and newspapers are the world’s second largest advertising medium -- larger than radio, outdoor, cinema, magazines and the internet combined. More than six billion euros have been invested in newspaper technology in the past five years -- print technology. And the industry employs nearly two million people world-wide.

"I believe in my heart that there isn’t anything in the world that is quite as portable, quite as useful, quite as content rich and quite as essential to our lives as a newspaper. And it isn’t going to disappear anytime soon," says Mr Byrne.

Mr Byrne spoke about seven key industry trends that are shaping the future. Here are three of them:

 Product innovation and new titles, including new print products for new lifestyles, sectioning strategies, digital printing, better and wider user of colour, and more. More than 550 new newspaper titles have been launched in the past five years.

 The free daily phenomenon. Free newspapers now distribute 30 million copies worldwide, or 6.5 percent of total world circulation.

 Understanding and exploiting digital-print synergies.

Talking to readers

The Göteborgs-Posten, the leading newspaper and media company in Sweden’s second city, has three good reasons to increase interaction with readers: newspapers are changing from "megaphones" to platforms for dialogue; stronger relationships can be built with readers; and interactivity can change traditional newspaper news into "the talk of the town."

"We are turning the readers from passively reading the newspaper to becoming active in the newspaper, to participate," says Mr Goliger. "Newspapers have a lot to gain if they turn into platforms for dialogue."

Mr Goliger presented a case study that demonstrated how interactivity isn’t the realm of digital media only -- newspapers can exploit interactivity too. When the a massive area in the Göteborg city centre came up for development, the newspaper seized on it as an opportunity to make sure the community not only had a vehicle to voice its opinion -- the newspaper -- but also had a way to influence the development itself.

The developers wanted to build skyscrapers, but the Gotesborg-Posten decided to invite readers to provide alternate views. It opened its pages to their opinions for a full week, and then did something unprecedented -- it hired architects to make sketches from readers ideas and proposals, and then invited readers to vote on their favorite plans. More than 25,000 people responded. The newspapers then presented an illustrated story on what the community wanted.

Mr Goliger provided several suggestions for such interactive projects. Here are two of them:

 Choose a subject that affects and engages many readers -- real estate development is always good.

 Remember that readers expect to be taken seriously. If you invite them, you will have obligations to them.

Following the Big Stories

Poland’s "story of the year," as Mr Piechota calls it, is not happening in Poland.

Since Poland joined the European Union in 2004, nearly two million Poles have moved to Western countries to find better jobs.

Poland’s media were slow to pick up on the story. But when Gazeta Wyborcza latched on to it, they did it in a big way -- they sent their reporters to follow the migrants across Europe, and had them try to get jobs just like -- and write about their experiences.

"From the beginning all reporters had to write online blogs, make podcasts, and take photos with their mobile phones," says Mr Piechota. "It was a totally new experience for them and for me as an editor. Two weeks before the first article appeared in the printed paper, thousands of people were following the expedition online day by day. And they were sending them instantly their tips and their comments about their progress. They were discussing the strategy and tactics of getting a job abroad. So they participated in our reporting effort."

The project evolved into a complete multimedia effort -- journalists filed radio reports, and a dedicated website about migration and finding jobs was launched with news, advice and recruitment ads. The newspaper launched a special daily section just about migration and its effects. The story continues to grow and has many offshoots -- a joint recruitment section with the Irish Independent; real estate supplements on finding homes abroad; a new section about cultural events all over Europe; feature stories in the newspaper magazine.

The big story, however, is not just about migration -- it is about people in general, says Mr Piechota. "This phenomenon can be used by newspapers easily to cover lifestyle stories. What people liked most about our section were real examples. we run a lot of features and interviews with ordinary migrants. So our pages were full of photos of young, dynamic people. No suits, no ties, what a difference!"

A Loyal Customer is a Profitable Customer

Loyal readers are the most profitable of newspaper readers. But what, exactly, contributes to reader loyalty?

German researchers who studied regional newspaper readers have benchmarked the factors that lead to loyalty and have created an "Excellence Barometer" that can be used to influence the loyalty of readers.

A telephone survey of 602 German local and regional newspaper readers in March focused on a variety of "image factors" -- is the newspaper title reliable? Likable? Objective? Modern? -- as well as satisfaction levels concerning delivery, editorial content, personal contact and more.

The benchmarking survey found that the newspapers scored well when compared to other sectors of society. But, perhaps more importantly, the research allows the newspapers to determine which areas are hurting reader loyalty, and then going about correcting them.

Rewarding Your Readers

Concentrate on quality readers. And reward them for their loyalty.

That’s the advice from Mr Hay, who says shedding circulation isn’t a problem if it is low-paying or free copies that are lost.

Globe circulation is declining marginally, but that’s because the company has significantly cut bulk and non-paid copies and focused on paying readers. While overall circulation declined, the percentage of high paying readers has grown 3 percent on weekdays (more than 8,000 copies) and 2 percent on Saturday (7,000 copies).

Mr Hay described an extensive marketing plan to retain these readers and keep them loyal. One aspect of the plan is the Globe and Mail’s Recognition Program, which was established in 2004 and now has 65,000 members.

The program offers high value, unique and exclusive which are communicated through the Globe -- no lists are rented or subscriber data shared. When possible, the offers from several merchants are bundled together.

"Our subscribers are receiving the recognition they deserve and retention is significantly higher with Recognition Members," he says. "Advertisers get access to the most affluent, well-educated audience that the Globe and Mail has, as an incremental opportunity to their current commitment. The program is very flexible and will continue to evolve based on subscriber direction and advertisers input."