Read about the World Editors Forum, which runs concurrently with the World Newspaper Congress, here.

Building From Print

Before taking the helm at Fairfax seven years ago, Mr Hilmer had a career teaching, writing and consulting on strategy in business and at university -- and it shows.

In a presentation that would make any business school proud, Mr Hilmer described Fairfax’s approach not from a traditional media perspective, but from the general perspective of corporate strategy.

"One of the traps in our business is that product strategies are so interesting and involving that they dominate the strategy agenda. In my view, given the threats and challenges we face, product strategies alone cannot produce satisfactory returns and growth. You have to know where you are going in the media universe . . . and why," said Mr Hilmer.

Fairfax has five main lines of business in quality print and digital publishing in Australia and New Zealand, including metropolitan newspapers, regional and community newspapers, business publications, New Zealand newspapers and magazines, and digital publishing.

Mr Hilmer presented the business plan from three perspectives:

  At the corporate level, where Fairfax is diversifying in media-in particular, increasing involvement in areas of lower competitive intensity than traditional major city metropolitan papers.

  At the business unit level, the company is developing new revenue streams while dramatically cutting costs in ways that minimise any negative impact on quality.

  At the product level, Fairfax is engaging in innovation based on better understanding of readers and advertisers.

"My main message is that the challenges we face are real and acute, and demand multiple initiatives and responses," he said. "There is no simple answer. There is no magic bullet."

IT Innovation and New Media

Mr Yim, who heads a government-sponsored research institute dedicated to developing new technologies, gave the Congress audience an overview of IT developments in the world and what the future holds.

As the steam engine was the driver of the industrial revolution, the computer is the driver of the information revolution, he said. One computer today hold the computing power of 10,000 computers of 25 years ago. Consumers accepted the internet faster than any other media. We send 30 billion e-mails daily.

And it’s only going to get quicker, Mr Yim said.

Mr Yim said three new media are being developed in Korea: Digital Multimedia Broadcasting, or DMB, which provides multimedia in the mobile environment; WiBro, or wireless broadband access, with which an internet connection can be maintained even when you are moving up to 60 kilometers an hour; and telematics, which can provide safety and other types of information and communication using satellite location.

"In the future, there will be more computers and devices than people, service will be ubiquitous, available anywhere, anytime, just like air."

Adapting to the Ubiquitous Networking Society

The Asahi Shimbun is the world’s second largest newspaper, with more than 12 million daily readers. So when its President & CEO says "our future depends on our ability to utilize the internet," it is time to pay attention.

"If we simply stand idly by, we may very well end up being pushed aside," he said. "In my mind, the only response to change is change: We must actively seek ways to change ourselves so that we can find a way to live together with the latest new media form."

The Asahi is in a "trial and error" stage with new media, but has a longer history with it than most. Mr Hakoshima shared some of his experiences:

  Asahi provides ten news and information sites that can be accessed by paying customers using their cell phones. Subscription fees are low -- the equivalent of between US$ 1 and US$3 -- but the system has more than one million subscribers!

"It is still rare for a website operated by a newspaper company to make a profit," said Mr Hakoshima. "People around the world assume that the advantage of going to the internet is to get news and information free of charge; hence they tend to stay away from paying money for news on the internet."

But this barrier, however, does not exist for cell phones. "Since clients recognize that they must pay for using a cell phone, they show little resistance toward paying a little extra for the news and information accessible by cell phone."

Winning With Wireless

Can you read this: "Erap resyn! B der @ d EDSA shryn 2nyt@7pm. Ppl hav d powr. Pls pass."?

In the shorthand of SMS messaging, it says: "President Erap has resigned. Be there at the EDSA shrine tonight at 7pm. People have the power. Please pass it on."

Calling people to action -- in this case for a rally to celebrate the resignation of a corrupt president -- is one of the myriad ways that Filipinos use their cellphones. In fact, Filipinos send more SMS messages than anyone else in the world -- 260 million SMS are sent every day by 34 million wireless subscribers.

So, if you want to learn about the potential for newspaper companies in the new world of mobile messaging, the Philippine Daily Inquirer would be a good place to start.

"Wireless efforts will not bring in big bucks in the beginning," said Ms Romualdez. "But because mobile is so pervasive, it provides the best fit for print and complements it in making news and information accessible to the consumers 24/7."

Ms Romualdez described the Inquirer’s strategy for tapping this new revenue source. Here are two of them:

  The Inquirer feedback service provides an avenue for readers to connect to the paper and increase customer satisfaction -- the wireless way.

  Arresting the decline in youth readership by creating a mobile murder mystery which users are invited to solve to win prizes, and by creating "readers clubs" whose members get free cinema tickets, free games in arcades, discounts in restaurants, etc.