Special sessions on the Chinese market will take place throughout the events. They will include:

  A presentation and discussion session on industry developments, led by Jiang Shaogoa, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the People’s Daily and representatives of the Chinese Newspaper Association from various kinds of publications.

  Two Chinese editors - Hu Xijin from the Global Times and Su Jishang from the Xinjiang Economic Daily - who will join other top news executives from the region in a session entitled ’What makes Asian newspapers different’.

  A special debate between editors, columnists and top journalists from China and their counterpart editors from around the world. The Chinese representatives will include: Zhang Fuhan, President of the China Commerce Newspaper, Mao Fuzhong, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Tianjin Evening News, Hu Huaifu, Office Director of the China Newspaper Association, and others.

  The Chinese editor who broke the news about the SARS epidemic, Qingchuang Lian, will also appear in the programme of the annual Press Freedom Round Table, to give his views on "newspapers in the fight against corruption".

More details on the programmes of the Congress, Forum and Info Services Expo, which take place from 29 May to 1 June, can be found at www.wan-press.org/seoul2005.

The events are the global meetings of the world’s press, organised by the World Association of Newspapers. More than 1,000 publishers, CEO, managing directors, chief editors and other senior newspaper executives are expected in Seoul.

Other highlights include:

  An examination of changing advertising market conditions and how newspapers should respond by Kevin Roberts, Chief Executive of Saatchi and Saatchi, Ryuichi Mori, Managing Director and Board Member of Dentsu and Tim Ellis, Global Director of Advertising and Media for Volvo.

  A discussion of what kind of newspapers readers will require in the years ahead by leading global publishers, including Arthur O. Sulzberger, Chairman of The New York Times Company, Ryoki Sugita, President and CEO of Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and Trevor Ncube, CEO of the Mail and Guardian in South Africa.

  A look at new launches, new formats and new approaches to product, pricing and distribution by Bengt Braun, President & CEO of Sweden’s Bonnier, Michael Grabner, Deputy Chairman of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck in Germany, and Théo Bouchat, Publications Director of Edipresse in Switzerland.

  A session on "new frontiers for journalism" featuring Krishna Bharat, head of Google’s Research & Development Centre and the creator of Google News, and Dan Gillmor, author of "We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People", who is developing a citizen-generated, grassroots journalism project.

  An presentation of innovative techniques for increasing readership from 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.

  The annual update on world trends in the newspaper industry, by Timothy Balding, Director General of WAN.

  The 2005 Global Report on Innovations in Newspapers, by the Innovation International Media Consulting Group, presented by Juan Señor, Claude Erbsen, and Juan Antonio Giner.

  A session on using editorial networks to expand news coverage efficiently, with Miguel Angel Basteiner, International Affairs Director of El Pais, Spain, and Director of the Le Monde/El Pais/La Repubblica network, Risto Uimonen, Editor of Kaleva in Finland, and Imtiaz Alam, General Secretary of the South Asian Free Media Association.

  As in past years, the Congress and Forum will feature a wide array of social events, including a 400th birthday bash for the anniversary of the first newspaper!

  And much more.

The 58th World Newspaper Congress runs concurrently with the 12th World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2005. For the full schedule and other information, consult 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, 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.