‘Light in dark’: WAN-Ifra takes newspaper congress to Beirut

First speakers have been announced for WAN-Ifra’s World Newspaper Congress, to be held in Beirut, Lebanon, from June 7-10. Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri will open the event including the World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2010, which is and hosted by ‘An-Nahar’ newspaper. Some 1500 newspaper delegates are expected in Beirut, the first time the global events have been held in the Arab world. Congress theme is ‘In Search of the New Business Model’, while the theme of the Forum is, ‘The New Information Ecosystem: Link, Share, Cooperate… or Die’. WAN-Ifra director general global affairs Timothy Balding says the choice of Lebanon was “self-evident for an organisation which vigorously promotes and defends media freedom and opposes the tyrants and autocratic regimes which seek to crush its emergence”. He says throughout the Middle East and North Africa, the free press is in various degrees controlled, oppressed, suspended, banned and censored, as publishers, editors and journalists are harassed, attacked, persecuted and imprisoned. "Lebanon is a shining exception in an otherwise dark regional tableau: its newspapers and electronic media are fully free and diverse and have achieved an impact and influence far beyond the borders of this small country." First confirmed speakers for the Congress include: - Mohamed Alayyan, the chairman of Jordan independent daily ‘Al Ghad’ newspaper; - Oliver Fleurot, public relations, corporate and financial communications and events management chief executive for Publicis Groupe. A former chief executive of the Financial Times, he believes “not enough is known about advertising effectiveness on the web and more research is needed”; - Roman Gallo, chief executive of PPF Media, whose ‘Nase Adresa’ (Our Address) in the Czech Republic is one of the most talked about hyper-local news projects in the world. PPF Media is in the process of blanketing the country with 200 different hyper-local weeklies, whose reporting teams are based in company "news cafes". The combination of newsrooms and Internet bistros is designed to facilitate contacts with readers and potential sources (and also bring in revenue). The World Editors Forum has also arranged a study tour to take in ‘Nase Adresa’ from March 17-19. The World Newspaper Congress events will be accompanied by a rich social programme, tours, meetings with local and international political, business and cultural leaders, and more. Other highlights of the Congress, which focuses on business issues of the press, include: - An update on world trends in the newspaper industry from Timothy Balding. - Presentation of the best from the 2010 strategy reports of WAN-IFRA's major Shaping the Future of the Newspaper research project, analysing developments and opportunities in the press industry. - The 2010 Global Report on Innovations in Newspapers by the Innovation International Media Consulting Group. - Annual round table seminars on press freedom (‘What's Ahead for the Independent Arab Press’), digital media (‘Digital Futures 2010’), and young readership development (‘Winning Strategies for Engaging the Young – Latest Strategies’). - A gala opening ceremony that includes presentation of the prestigious Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize from WAN-IFRA. The 2010 Golden Pen will be presented to Iranian journalist Ahmad Zeid-Abadi. - A session on new content platforms, which will examine the surge in sales of electronic readers for books, notably 'tablets', and the multiplication of mobile devices with easy and comfortable access to news sites. These developments have given a new lease of life to the idea that wireless platforms may yet take a central role in news publishing. The session will examine current newspaper experiments in publishing on such devices and takes a whirlwind tour of what's now on the market. For the evolving programmes, registration information and other details,visit www.wanlebanon2010.com