Paris, 12 June 2000

New READY Partner for World Association of Newspapers: Unisys

Unisys, one of the largest worldwide suppliers of information technology services and solutions, has become a Strategic Business Partner of the World Association of Newspapers in the READY Project, it was announced Monday.

Unisys will make a sizable investment in the project, which was launched in 1997 to promote the development and well-being of newspaper companies through research and a global exchange of ideas, data and information. The main objective of READY is to enhance the competitiveness of newspaper products and services around the world.

"The global experience of Unisys as a technology innovator will be a great asset to the READY Project. We look forward to working closely with Unisys to further expand READY to the benefit of newspapers world-wide," said Timothy Balding, the WAN Director General.

Franco Giglio, Vice-President, Global Publishing for Unisys Corporation, said: "Since 1974, Unisys has played a key role in the publishing industry with a long-term Research and Development strategy that has resulted in our market leadership. Through our READY partnership with WAN, Unisys reaffirms its commitment to the industry and to developing innovative solutions for newspapers to enhance their competitiveness."

A US-based company, Unisys has more than 36,000 employees operating in more than 100 countries to provide electronic business solutions to help customers apply information technology to seize opportunities and meet the challenges of the Internet economy.

A supplier to the publishing industry for a quarter century, Unisys has become a well-recognized name in the business. Its "e-@ction" Publishing Solutions are used daily by over 16,000 journalists to compose and edit stories at more than 180 newspapers.

Lodovico de Briganti, Worldwide Marketing Director for the Unisys Publishing program, added: "We are proud to be associated with WAN and its members, the leaders of the global newspaper industry. Through our collaboration with WAN, we can work with publishers to shape the solutions of the future and help publishers maintain their leadership in providing quality information."

The other READY partners are: PubliGroupe, the Swiss-based international advertising and promotion group; Telia, the Sweden-based international telecommunications company; WRH Marketing, the marketing and distribution organisation of Swiss-based WRH Walter Reist Holding AG, which includes the Ferag group of companies; MAN Roland, a leading world

company for newspaper production systems; and UPM-Kymmene, one of the world's leading printing paper producers.

WAN, which represents 17,000 newspapers around the globe, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to the defence and promotion of press freedom and the development of newspaper publishing world-wide.

The READY Project has allowed WAN to create a Research Centre, increase its publications, provide practical help to newspapers in developing markets, and help newspapers formulate and implement development strategies. The READY acronym stands for Research, Education, Assistance and Development StrategY.

Enquiries to:

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 25 rue d'Astorg, 75008 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

or

Lodovico de Briganti, Worldwide Marketing Director-Publishing, Unisys Italia, Via B. Crespi, 57, 20159 Milano Italia. Tel:+39-02-6985532. Fax: :+39-02-6985477. Mobile: +39 335 7203419 E-mail: lodovico.debriganti@it.unisys.com

 

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