First confirmed speakers have been announced for the World News Media Congress, being held in Washington in June.
A 'who's who' of the global news publishing world is being lined up for the event - which includes the 67th World News Media Congress, the 22nd World Editors Forum and the 25th World Advertising Forum - from June 1-3.
Among them is Martin Baron, executive editor of the Washington Post, who oversees print and digital operations. Under Baron's leadership, the Post newsroom won two Pulitzer Prizes in 2014, including the prestigious public service medal for a series of stories based on classified documents leaked by Edward Snowden that exposed the National Security Agency's massive global surveillance programmes.
Others confirmed include:
- Andrew Miller, chief executive of the UK-based Guardian Media Group, which announced a major transformation programme to change from a print-based organisation to one that is digital-first in philosophy and practice;
- Torry Pedersen, chief executive and editor-in-chief of Verdens Gang, the leading news site/newspaper in Norway, and among the most profitable news organisations in Europe;
- Eric Harris, Buzzfeed's executive vice president for business operations, who has been a key figure in developing its business model, new ventures, and growing the site's relationships with publishers and brands;
- Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, whose speech to the Reuters Institute last year has been described as the year's most definitive statement on the future of journalism;
- Vivian Schiller, former president and chief executive of National Public Radio and former global chair of news at Twitter and one of the world's most compelling executives at the forefront of media and technology;
- Marta Gleich, executive editor of Zero Hora, the leading newspaper of the South of Brazil, known for its digital innovation and for opening space for its readers.
Full details can be found at http://www.wan-ifra.org/DC2015
More than 1200 delegates are expected to attend the events, which will also include a World Media Policy Forum to look at the issue of internet governance and other issues of growing concern.
The 2015 events are organised in cooperation with the Newspaper Association of America.
