Events in coming weeks put India and Malaysia at the centre of the regional newspaper industry during a very busy conference period.
They include INMA’s South Asia conference in New Delhi (August 22-23) and WAN-Ifra’s Publish Asia and India Expo event in Bangalore from September 11-13.
ASEAN Newspaper Printers will hold its delegates conference in Penang from September 3-5.
Additionally, Australia’s PANPA Forum is being held on August 29-30 in Sydney, and Malaysia has also been chosen for Digital Media Asia, being held from November 12-14 in Kuala Lumpur. And if you’re checking your diary, don’t forget the World Publishing Expo (IfraExpo) in Berlin from October 7-9.
INMA (now the International News Media Association) contrasts the local media industry situation with that in North America and Europe, where publishers have shed print and unleashed digital in a big way. “The South Asian media industry boasts of a healthy print industry and looks upon digital as an ally,” says president Sanjay Gupta, who is chief executive of Jagran Prakashan. “It drives our life cycles.
“Consumers in South Asia don't consume either print or digital; they consume print and digital.”
Theme of the seventh INMA South Asian is ‘Print: Thriving in the age of digital’ is pitched specifically for news media companies in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Organisers promise a “fast-paced tour de force” of ideas and innovations to grow newspaper advertising, circulation and brand by addressing key current issues in the print + digital ecology of the South Asia market.
The first afternoon is focussed on strategy and trends, while the second day turns to advertising excellence – with presentations on print and digital media planning – and audience development. The final message is ‘print + digital = lethal combination’.
WAN-Ifra’s India Expo 2013 is expected to be the second-largest newspaper printing and publishing expo in the world with ABB, Atex, CCI Europe, Ferag, Goss, Kohli Graphics, manroland, Manugraph, Mitsubishi, Newstech, ppi Media, Tolerans, QI Press Controls and QuadTech among more than 50 exhibitors.
This year, Publish Asia is being held alongside, with more than 1500 Expo visitors and 600 conference delegates expected.
The India Expo takes its lead from the European event, and will also include a series of ‘quick learning’ sessions with topics covering 3D printing, digital story telling and publishing on tablet devices in an open-stage ‘Media Port’ in the Expo.
Full details are at www.wan-ifra.org/india2013
Publish Asia will have three parallel tracks – a Printing Summit for production and technology executives; a Newsroom Summit for senior editors; and a Cross Media Advertising Summit for advertising and business executives.
Conference are at http://www.wan-ifra.org/events/publish-asia-2013
“WAN-IFRA India Expo 2013 comes at a time when the industry is looking for innovative solutions to augment growth,” says K N Shanth Kumar, director of The Printers Mysore and a WAN-Ifra board member.
“Suppliers and publishers can expect to benefit from mutual interactions. Bangalore as the city provides the ambience necessary for such interactions and new learning. We invite everyone to come to Bangalore and to be inspired by new ideas that the event promises to provide."