WAN-ifra has elected new board members, passed resolutions highlighting concerns over press freedom, and announced a new “expert panel” in the opening days of its World News Media Congress in Taipei.
The 11 new supervisory board members – including eight women executives – were elected at the association’s general assembly, when Fernando de Yarza was reelected president.
The World Association of News Publishers’ board also issued five press freedom resolutions highlighting issues of major concern.
WAN-Ifra says the changes in the board signal its ongoing commitment to deliver on the strategic plan for diversity and inclusion initiated in 2017, and ensures it has the additional skillsets and experience to support future developments.
Incoming board members include:
Sammi Bourke (head of operations at Irish Farmers Journal, Ireland); Xenia Daum (managing director of Kleine Zeitung, Austria); Ladina Heimgartner (global media head & chief executive of Blick Group Ringier, Switzerland); Marte Ingul (executive vice president for community and government relations at Amedia, Norway); Bérénice Lajouanie (directrice générale du Pôle les Echos et Thématiques Les Echos, France); Mariam Mammen Mathew (chief executive of India’s Manorama Online, Malayala Manorama Company); Shiro Nakamura (president and chief executive of Asahi Shimbun, Japan); Joanna Norris (chief content officer at Stuff, New Zealand); Gavin O'Reilly (executive chairman of The New European); Martha Ramos (chief editorial officer of Organizacion Editorial Mexicana, Mexico); and Andrew Saunders (president and chief executive of The Globe and Mail, Canada).
WAN-Ifra chief executive Vincent Peyrègne said the association “has to set an example… as the global representative body of the news publishing branch”.
“I am delighted that our efforts are bearing fruit. With almost 40 per cent female board members in 2023, we are pushing ahead with a more inclusive policy, which I see is being adopted more and more by our members worldwide.
“We are on the road to parity, but there is still work to be done, and we will persist in this direction.”
The group promises an update of its strategic roadmap for diversity and inclusion, “before the end of the year”.
At the same meeting, 33 directors were re-elected to serve a renewed term, and Fernando de Yarza reelected president for a one-year term. Johanna Lahti, editor-in-chief of Ilta-Sanomat in Finland was elected to the World Editors Board.
Eight directors – Eugene Abov, Phillip Crawley, Hans Heinrich Coninx, Warren Fernandez, Sophie Gourmelen, Markus Mair, Masahiro Maruyama, Pal Nedregotten, Pratap Pawar – have retired from the board
Calls for releasing jailed journalists, more solidarity for Ukraine, appeals for journalists’ safety, and EU tax regulations occupied the board’s agenda as it renewed its commitment to a free press worldwide.
WAN-Ifra called for the immediate release of 2023 Golden Pen of Freedom laureates Elahe Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi, and all jailed journalists in Iran, and condemned the “brutal crackdown” against the press and all those protesting in support of human rights.
The board also condemned the six-year prison sentence handed down to veteran journalist Jose Rubén Zamora in Guatemala, and called on authorities to “cease their harassment of him and the independent news organisation he leads, El Periódico”.
The board reiterated its solidarity with a free press in Ukraine, calling for a renewal of international solidarity and an increase in support for colleagues fighting for the liberation of their country.
It also called on governments worldwide to prioritise journalists’ safety and facilitate the independent media’s role, particularly around critical periods such as elections, by strengthening the enabling environment in which the profession operates.
Finally, the board called on European Union member states to respect the engagement agreed by EU finance ministers in 2021 concerning the VAT rate for news media, which it said was “a critical element of post-pandemic recovery for independent media across the continent”.
WAN-Ifra’s 2022 financial report showed it ended the year with 220,000 Euros from global revenue of 11.5 million Euros, an increase of 32 per cent on 2021. Some 70 new corporate members joined during the past 18 months.
Peyrègne said the “positive situation” was good news for the association and the relevance of its programmes in a fast-changing context. “It reflects the sector's significant needs in an accelerated digital transition.
“The coming months will be critical, but we will not restrain our solidarity efforts to our members despite the global economic tension.”