The 66th World Newspaper Congress, 21st World Editors Forum and 24th World Advertising Forum are offering more than 100 speakers in three conferences, a wide variety of strategic and policy round table seminars and workshops, plus exhibitions of everything from content management systems and syndication services to drones and wearable technology. The events are built around an opening ceremony that will feature the presentation of the annual Golden Pen of Freedom award, and will be accompanied by an array of social and networking events.
More than 1,000 publishers, CEOs, managing directors, chief editors and other senior newspaper and news publishing executives are expected in Torino from 9 to 11 June for the events, organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
“We are particularly proud of this year’s events, as they bring together both the traditional strengths of news media with a recognition, and a variety of responses, to the disruption that has become a constant force in our industry,” said Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of WAN-IFRA, which represents 18,000 newspapers, 15,000 online sites and more than 3,000 companies in 120 countries.
“We like to think the Congress, Editors Forum and Advertising Forum are a mirror of our industry itself; there is something for everyone here, it is designed to be the one conference venue for busy executives who appreciate having all the pressing issues addressed in one event.”
Highlights include:
* National Security, liberty, regulation, and the role of the press in the digital age, which will feature Gary Pruitt, President and CEO of The Associated Press, Guy Black, Executive Editor of Telegraph Media Group in the United Kingdom; Janine Gibson, Editor-in-Chief, theguardian.com and Deputy Editor of Guardian News and Media, and Claudio Paolillo, Chairman of the Press Freedom and Information Committee of the Inter-American Press Association.
* “How to transform your business for the multi-platform world,” which will include John Paton, CEO of Digital First Media in the United States, Jean-Baptise Morin, CEO of Lagardère’s LS Distribution in, Yoichi Nishimura, Board Director of Digital Business and International Affairs of The Asahi Shimbun in Japan, Tore Stangebye, CEO of Berner Media Holding in Norway, and Luc Tran-Thang, Managing Director of Starcom Mediavest in France.
* “Why Video Matters: Get in the Game,” which includes Chris Cramer, Global Head of Video for the Wall Street Journal, Magnus Zaar, Head of Aftonbladet TV, Eric Scherer, Director of Future Media for France Télévisions, Amy Mitchell, Director of Journalism Research at the Pew Research Center, Susan Vobejda, General Manager of Media Licensing and Distribution for Bloomberg, Jérôme Grateau, Managing Director for Partner Business Solutions for Google in Southern and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Marie-Noëlle Vallès, Head of Video for Agence France-Presse.
* “Editor’s evolution: are you in danger of becoming extinct?”, which will feature Jason Seiken, Editor-in-chief and Chief Content Officer of the Telegraph, Mario Calabresi, Editor-in-chief of Italy’s La Stampa, Thomas Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press as Harvard University, Joseph Odindo, Group Editorial Director of The Nation in Kenya, and David Boardman, Dean of Media and Communications at Temple University in the United States.
* “Alternative business models, unconventional and disruptive revenue streams,” which will include Chris Lee, President of Deseret Digital Media in the United States; Dag Wigum, Founder and CEO of Schibsted Payment AS in Norway; Jérôme Colin, Principal of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in France; and Alceo Rapagna, Chief Digital Officer for RCS MediaGroup in Italy.
* The annual “World Press Trends” report on global media trends, by Larry Kilman, Secretary General of WAN-IFRA, and the “Global Report on Innovations in Newspapers,” which will be presented by Juan Señor and the team from the Innovation International Media Consulting Group.
* Policy round table seminars on Editorial strategies for navigating privacy and surveillance, Verification: new tools in the trade (in conjunction with the Ethical Journalism Network), the IP and Copyright Debate, Rights in Conflict with Freedom of Expression, and Value of the Industry.
* An Advertising Hackathon that will bring groundbreaking and innovative advertising ideas to life during an extensive pre-conference weekend of brainstorming and prototype-building (Details at www.adhackathon.com ).
* The Energy Lounge, a technology showcase introduced for the first time in the Congress, designed to demonstrate live consumer electronics and innovative devices that could change the way news and media are delivered, consumed and monetized. Participants include (subject to confirmation) Mobiles Republic, Samsung, SunnyCam Glasses, Archos, Mozilla Open News, Google, BERG Cloud, Parrot Drones, and many others.
* Social events including an opening cocktail reception, a gala dinner and many other opportunities to meet colleagues from around the world.
* Plus, says WAN-IFRA, much more!
There is still time to register; full details here.
