“Ten years after the beginning of the digital breakthrough and the changes
it has brought to the news business, it’s time for editors to appraise what
developments are valuable and worthy of investment - and what is risky and
potentially dangerous for the profession,” says Bertrand Pecquerie,
Director of the WEF.
The 11th World Editors Forum, which will run concurrently with the World
Newspaper Congress and Info Services Expo 2004 from 30 May to 2 June in
Istanbul, Turkey, takes the theme, “The Newsroom Revolution: New
Technologies, New Markets, New Competitors.”
While the Congress is devoted to newspaper business issues, the Forum
focuses on the editorial concerns. More than 1,000 editors, publishers and
other senior newspaper executives are expected at the events, the annual
global meetings of the world’s press.
For the evolving conference programme, a list of participants and other
information, consult http://www.wan-press.org/istanbul2004/ or contact Julia
Hewkin, Events Coordinator, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, 75005 Paris,
France. Telephone +33 1 47 42 85 00, Fax +33 1 47 42 49 48, e-mail:
jhewkin@wan.asso.fr.
The Forum will feature five sessions that will be devoted to the major
concerns of editors:
Press credibility in the digital age: new attacks, new answers. The rise
of challengers to print journalism -- cable, TV, online services, mobile
phones, free newspapers, and even “bloggers” on the internet -- is raising
questions about what is news, who is a journalist, and how does the press
maintain its trust and credibility in this information explosion.
The session will feature keynote speaker Anssi Vanjoki, Vice President of
the Nokia Group, on the question of whether newspapers need to “reinvent”
journalism, along with top editors and media CEOs. Early confirmed speakers
for this session include Yeon-Ho On, Founder and CEO of Ohmynews, Korea, and
Andrew Nachison, Director of the Media Center at the American Press
Institute.
Tabloid boom: no limits? Hardly a week goes by without the announcement
that a major daily broadsheet has changed to tabloid. Some predict that ALL
newspapers will be tabloids in the near future. What are the reasons behind
this major shift? Is it a fashion phenomenon or a real need to satisfy the
readers? Can broadsheets hold out against the current trend.
The session will feature the editors to two UK newspapers which recently
added a tabloid version while maintaining the broadsheet -- Simon Kelner,
Editor in Chief of The Independent and George Brock, Managing Editor of The
Times -- along with Niels Lunde, Chief Editor of Berlinske Tidende,
Denmark.
The Front Page Revolution. You have two seconds to seduce your readership.
This, every day, is the challenge of the front page editor. The exercise is
extremely difficult and is becoming even more so as more colour, more
photos, more “points of entry” and more headlines are added to the mix.
Some newspapers have found successful strategies and will be sharing them
with the WEF. Confirmed speakers include: Roger Black, Chairman of Danilo
Black, Inc., United States; David Wadmore, Associate Head of Design, The
Times, United Kingdom; and Terry Quinn, Editorial Development Manager,
Fairfax Group, Australia and New Zealand.
Photojournalism and new visual strategies. The future of photojournalism
is a major issue for print newspapers. But are they taking advantage of new
paths for photos in the storytelling process and in feature writing? At the
same time, agencies are undergoing their own revolutions: huge
concentration, sophisticated use of digital cameras, real-time constraints
that become opportunities.
Confirmed speakers include Jean-François Le Mounier, Head of the Photo
Department for Agence France-Presse, and Angelo Rinaldo, Managing Editor and
Art Director, La Repubblica, Italy.
Arab Media: an emerging power. From CNN leadership in 1991 to Al Jazeera
(and al Arabiya) power in 2003, Arab television played a major role during
the war in Iraq and its aftermath. But what about Arab newspapers? Do they
have a major influence on public opinion? And what is the balance between
professional and ideological issues within the newsroom? What lessons can be
learned from the Baghdad bloggers?
As in past years, the WEF will share several sessions with the World
Newspaper Congress - the gala opening ceremony, featuring Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the presentation ceremony of the WAN
Golden Pen of Freedom, a presentation on the latest world press trends, a
global report on innovations in newspapers, and much more.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry,
represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 72 national newspaper
associations,
The WEF is a division of WAN for senior newsroom executives. More about the
WEF at http://www.worldeditorsforum.org
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
