The circulation and advertising "war" is engaged on all fronts: morning quality titles, popular evening editions and, of course, free dailies -- the city is the home of the first "Metro" publication.

At the World Newspaper Congress, to be held in Seoul, Korea, from 29 May to 1 June, participants will hear what Scandinavia’s biggest multi-media company -- Bonnier -- is doing to succeed in this challenging, hyper-competitive newspaper market.

Bengt Braun, Bonnier’s President & CEO, will examine what his company has been doing to reverse the fortunes of its evening newspaper, Expressen, while fighting back in the free daily stakes, with a different concept of a city free daily -- Stockholm City. At the same time, the company has turned its quality daily, Dagens Nyheter, into tabloid format.

Bonnier, a 200-year-old family-owned media group based in Stockholm, operates in more than 20 countries with particular focus on northern Europe. It comprises approximately 200 companies and units.

Mr Braun will make his presentation in a Congress session that examines newspaper innovations, including new launches, format changes and new approaches to product, pricing and distribution. He will be joined by Michael Grabner, Deputy Chairman of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck in Germany, and Théo Bouchat, Publications Director of Edipresse in Switzerland.

The session will examine their successes and look forward to possible changes to come, with analysis and case studies from the World Association of Newspaper’s Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project, which identifies, analyses and publicises all important breakthroughs and opportunities that can benefit newspapers all over the world.

The 58th World Newspaper Congress, the 12th World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2005 are the global annual meetings of the world’s press, organised by WAN. More than 1,000 publishers, CEOs, chief editors, managing directors and other senior newspaper executives are expected to attend.

For the full conference programme, a list of participants, registration details and other information, consult www.wan-press.org/seoul2005.

Other speakers include:

  Arthur O. Sulzberger, Chairman of The New York Times Company, and Ryoki Sugita, President and CEO of Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun, who will join other leading global publishers to discuss what kind of newspapers they think readers will require in the years ahead, and what major external and internal challenges they believe they will have to address in their press groups.

  Kevin Roberts, worldwide CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi, Ryuichi Mori, Managing Director and Board Member of another of the world’s biggest advertising agencies, Dentsu, and Tim Ellis, Global Director of Advertising and Media for Volvo, in a session on how newspapers can tap into changes in the advertising market at a time when consumers are bombarded with advertising and companies are looking for new ways to break through the clutter.

  Fred Hilmer, CEO of the Australian group John Fairfax Holdings, which publishes the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review and a host of other daily and weekly publications in Australia and New Zealand. Mr Hilmer, who has pursued a strategy that has positioned the corporation to deal with both competitive and technological challenges, will address "Building Off the Print Franchise."

  Per Mikael Jensen, Vice-President and International Editor-in-Chief of Metro International, Alejandro Junco de la Vega, President & CEO of Mexico’s Reforma Group, and Michael Golden, Publisher of the International Herald Tribune, in a session that will explore innovative techniques for increasing readership.

  Shin-ichi Hakoshima, President and CEO of Japan’s Asahi Shimbun, and Sandy Romualdez, President of the Philippine Inquirer, in a session on profitable newspaper strategies for providing content to mobile devices.

  And many others.

Full conference details at www.wan-press.org/seoul2005.

The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 72 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 10 news agencies and ten 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.