An insightful day and a fun night is promised when PANPA members get together for the ‘Newspapers: The Future Forum’ event in Sydney on September 10. Keynoter Brendan Hopkins, chief executive of APN News and Media, is the latest to join a speaking line-up which already includes Timothy Balding, joint chief executive of the newly-merged WAN-Ifra. And the ‘fun’ side is catered with the announcement of party band Jellybean Jam to perform at the Newspaper of the Year awards dinner which follows. PANPA chief executive Mark Hollands says the conference will deliver “answers and practical ideas” on the theme of newspapers’ future in print. “There is no magic bullet, or one-best-way to do it,” he says, “but there are many great ideas and executions that boost newspapers and deliver new audiences.” A range of speakers come from backgrounds in journalism, advertising, digital and mobile technologies, plus print and production. Océ’s Robert Koeckeis will talk about the Arcodavila digital newspaper print site in Spain, while Jacek Utko – familiar for his video lectures on the TED website – will show how design has helped rejuvenate European newspapers. And emphasising the power of newspaper advertising will be Tony Hale, chief executive of The Newspaper Works. Other speakers include UK mobile media expert Mark Challinor,Darren Burden (Fairfax Digital) and Simon Holt (News Limited) as well as Lee Silverman (IBM Institute for Research, Media), industrial relations specialist Miles Bastick (Freehills), Peter Chrisp (Norske Skog) and representatives of Agfa and manroland. • A record 368 entries – five more than last year – are currently being judged for this year’s Newspaper of the Year awards. PANPA says greater participation by major publishers has offset a small fall in entries by smaller newspapers and their marketing teams. Hollands says “enormous effort” has been made this year to guarantee the integrity of the judging process, with a minimum two judges on every category, and up to six judges on some. “We have taken on feedback from metropolitan editors and ensured that all Newspaper of the Year entries in the 90,001+ category are judged overseas,” he says. “This prevents any so-called home-town advantage with local judges.” Technical excellence will be judged by six industry experts, ensuring quality outcomes in one of the most competitive set of categories.