What is SFN?



Since 1997, the World Association of Newspapers has partnered with some of the most prominent brand names in the media industry in order to provide newspaper publishers with actionable, strategic plans about the multiple challenges facing the industry. The Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project was born to help newspapers address short-term and long-term plans to survive and thrive in the changing media environment. The SFN project identifies multiple topics of import to publishers’ operational and strategic opportunities, and develops reports on these topics, which include step-by-step strategies, case studies, and analysis of trends -- in a context that is relevant to newspaper executives. Today, the SFN project produces seven strategic reports per year.

The SFN Project has five Strategic Business Partners:

· MAN, a leading world company for newspaper production systems.

· PubliGroupe, the Swiss-based international advertising promotion group.

· UPM-Kymmene, one of the world’s leading printing paper producers.

· Telenor, the leading Norwegian telcom, IT and media company.

· Atex, the world’s leading provider of content management software and services to the global media industry.

SFN Reports

The Shaping the Future of the Newspaper reports provide deep analysis on major operational and strategic developments and opportunities for the newspaper industry.

The principal objective is to deliver essential planning and information tools to newspaper publishers, editors and managers world-wide.

At least six SFN strategy reports are produced each year and 37 have been published between 2001 and 2007, both in print and electronically:

Series 7
-  Envisioning the Newspaper 2020 (October 2007)
-  Engaging Young Readers (December 2007)
-  Investing in Newspapers (December 2007)
-  The Value of News Content (February 2008)
-  Scenario Planning for the Newspaper Industry (February 2008)
-  Benchmarking New Digital Revenues (May 2008)
-  SFN Extra: World Digital Media Trends (March 2008)

Series 6
-  New Print Products
-  Benchmarking New Digital Revenues
-  Advertising Best Practices
-  The Power of Local Focus
-  Reorganising the Newspaper Company
-  Innovative Management Systems
-  World Digital Media Trends

Series 5
-  Pricing Strategies
-  Advertising Science
-  New Editorial Concepts
-  Digital Classifieds Survey
-  Outsourcing
-  New Revenue Strategies

Series 4
-  Media Landscapes: Beyond Advertising
-  The Format Change Phenomenon
-  Free Dailies: Past or Future?
-  Classified Models Revisited
-  Circulation Science
-  Profiting from Digital

Series 3
-  Media Landscapes
-  Emerging Markets
-  Circulation Winners
-  New Designs, New Formats
-  New Classified Models
-  The Mobile Opportunity

Series 2
-  The Newspaper Marketing Plan
-  Reaching and Retaining Young Readers
-  Growth and Diversification
-  The Role of the Newspaper
-  Added Value Advertising
-  The Distribution Revolution

Series 1
-  The Value-Driven Newspaper Editorial Measurement
-  Strategies for a Converging World
-  Internet Strategies for Newspapers Revisited
-  Successful Customer Relationship Management
-  The Tailored Newspaper

The SFN website, www.futureofthenewspaper.com, includes downloadable reports for WAN members, as well as daily news items about the newspaper industry. In addition to the strategy reports, WAN members and subscribers can find on this site:

· Resources such as an advertising effectiveness presentation, based on worldwide research into the value of advertising in print, and short ready-made slide presentations on major issues facing newspapers.

· Hundreds of business ideas and case studies about every area of newspaper operations. · Annual World Press Trends in circulation and advertising · World Digital Media Trends website linked from the SFN website, detailing global digital media trends in Internet and mobile revenue making and usage

SFN project presentations are in high demand. In the last years, SFN leaders have presented to thousands of the world’s newspaper publishers and editors at conferences on every continent. SFN presentations are the centerpiece of all WAN conferences.

SFN reports have been translated into Portuguese, French, Finnish, Swedish and Russian.

Articles on the project have been published in dozens of media magazines.

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Introduction