Back to Basics - With Innovation

The slogan of the Korean Association of Newspapers is: "As a lighthouse for readers, as well as a mirror reflecting the world."

"That might sound archaic, but we need to get back to basics," said Dr Chang.

But he added a caveat: due to the "new-media big bang," newspapers need to present themselves in media other than paper, they must do so all the time, everywhere, and they must also concentrate on their core strength -- good content.

"Hybrid platforms, ubiquitous environment, creative content -- I believe this is the tripod underpinning the next generation of newspapers," he said.

Mr Chang said: "Some people insist that the newspaper industry is struggling, but this is not true for everyone." He said that many companies that will be presented at the World Newspaper Congress are innovating, targeting new readers, redesigning and fine-tuning their content.

"We will examine how newspaper companies worldwide can share their know-how," he said.

Newspapers create democracy

President Roh saluted the 400th anniversary of the newspaper in print and called them "the most familiar media in the history of humanity."

"There are many cases of a single article or photo changing the course of history. And today, millions of journalists are toiling for liberty, justice and peace."

He said courageous newspapers were instrumental in creating Korean democracy.

"Those who stood up to colonialism and past dictatorships were banned, and hundreds of journalists were dismissed at a time," he said. "Despite the hardships, there are many who did not give up their pens. This is why South Korea enjoys democracy."

But Mr Roh said there was a danger today of newspapers monopolizing debate and "institutional mechanisms" were needed to curb excesses.

Recent legislative proposals in South Korea aim to restrict newspaper market share. Advocates say this is necessary to avoid media monopolies, but others (including the World Association of Newspapers) say the proposals restrict press freedom and do not follow international norms.

A Challenge to Conventional Wisdom

Mr O’Reilly opened the 58th World Newspaper Congress and 12th World Editors Forum .with a challenge to those who say that newspapers are in terminal decline: 400 years after the birth of the printed newspaper, the industry is undergoing a renaissance.

"It is somewhat ironic that in a year in which the newspaper is 400 years old -- or perhaps more fittingly, 400 years young -- so many media commentators are still suggesting that the game is up for newspapers," said Gavin O’Reilly.

"After 400 years of newspapers rightly dominating the media landscape -- and successfully weathering the onslaught of radio, TV and latterly the new digital age, it’s hard to see the full-time whistle blowing quite yet."

Mr O’Reilly said the latest conventional wisdom -- that the newspaper industry is in terminal decline -- does not reflect reality and should be vigorously challenged by the industry.

"Publishers today have become acutely commercial, responsive and inventive," said Mr O’Reilly, addressing more than 1,300 senior newspaper executives from 81 countries, in the presence of Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun.

"Simply put, we’ve upped our game," he said. "We’ve invested millions and millions in new state-of-the-art colour production facilities; we’ve become leaders in merchandising; we’ve invested millions behind our brands; we’ve aggressively targeted consumers -- both young and old; we present a medium that is relatively fragmentation-proof; and the internet -- supposedly the nemesis of our industry -- has in fact become a critical and vibrant part of our product and brand mix.

"And it is that which will form the basis of our success -- recognising the unrivalled strength of our medium and its place and relevance in its society," he said. "Newspapers represent an integral part of over a billion people’s life every day -- showcasing and celebrating the serendipity of life."

Read the full presentation here

The value of press freedom

The World Association of Newspapers awarded its annual press freedom prize, the 2005 Golden Pen of Freedom, to Mahjoub Mohamed Salih, a Sudanese editor, who has been fighting for press freedom for over half a century.

Mr Salih, 76, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Sudan’s oldest independent newspaper, Al-Ayam, became a journalist in 1949 when Sudan was an Anglo-Egyptian colony.

"During my over half a century of working in this profession, I have experienced all types of constraints and harassments, including censorship, confiscation, banning, closure, nationalisation, intimidation and imprisonment," said Mr Salih. "Nothing kept us going except commitment to the profession and dedicated loyalty to its ideas."

Apart from a short period of peace, a civil war has been fought in Sudan between the mainly Muslim north and the Christian south since independence in 1956. A peace agreement was signed in January 2005, but fighting continues in many parts of the country. The violence is at its worst in Darfur, where the United Nations estimates that 180,000 people have died in 18 months of conflict and some 2 million people have been forced to flee from their homes.

"I cannot help feeling that had the press been free in exposing these atrocities from the beginning of the conflict, peace would have been achieved years back and a lot of tragic miseries could have been avoided," said Mr Salih.

"We learn two principles from this lesson: one - we must demand and acquire full freedom of information to create a really transparent world. Two - we should work collectively to achieve and protect freedom of expression so that information is made available to all."

Read the full presentation here