Future of news media business at Wan-Ifra 2018 in Hyderabad
What to expect during Wan-Ifra India 2018 Conference? PrintWeek India has the details
19 Sep 2018 | By PrintWeek India
Over the years, the annual Wan-Ifra India Conference has evolved into the go-to event to keep oneself abreast with the dynamics of the newspaper industry. Keeping up with the tradition, the 26th edition of Wan-Ifra India 2018 Conference, organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (Wan-Ifra) will be held in Hyderabad from 25 to 27 September 2018.
Like every year, this year too, the event will feature an industry get-together with more than 300 senior publishing executives from over 25 countries, where the participants will gain insights from innovators who are transforming the global media industry. The participants will also get an opportunity to learn from case studies and best practices that are directly relevant to their own media operations.
Plus, the conference will host the South Asian Digital Media Awards 2018. The prestigious competition in the industry for publishers to benchmark their digital offerings in South Asia will take place on 26 September on the sidelines of the conference.
There will also be the annual exhibition, which will feature names like 4C Plus; ABB; Wellprint; Cadgraf; Facebook; Kapoor Imaging; Krause; Manugraph; Manroland/Goss; Memory; M&M Technologies; News Hub Media; NewsTech; Poddar Global; Protec Media; PPI; Prakash Offset; EAE QIPC; Baldwin; Seiken; Summit; TechNova; Trelleborg; Think Print; SLKCG; and WRH Global.
The list of speakers at the conference includes international names like Steve Yelvington, consulting and training services, USA; Vincent Peyrègne; CEO, Wan-Ifra, France; Maria A Ressa; CEO and executive editor, Rappler, Philippines; Thomas Isaksen, CEO, Procurement Association of the Danish Press, Denmark; Fredric Karen, CEO and editor-in-chief, Svenska Dagbladt, Sweden; Manfred Werfel, deputy CEO, Wan-Ifra; TK Suresh, chief general manager- operations, Jagati Publications; Sandeep Gupta, executive president, Dainik Jagran; Sharad Saxena, executive director – operations, HT Media; Syed Nazakat, founder and editor-in-chief, DataLEADS / CIJ, India; Mukund Padmanabhan, editor, The Hindu, among others.
Like every year, the conference will have two components — World Editors Forum South Asia Summit and World Printers Forum Conference. The World Editors Forum will tackle topics such as digital first approach; journalism and change management; big data and reader engagement, while the World Printers Forum Conference will discuss issues like print media trends and distribution models; operational excellence; quality and process efficiency.
Meanwhile, the future of news media companies will be a common topic for both the conferences.
Select Itinerary
26 September 2018
9:45: Keynote address: World Press Trends and future of news publishing by Vincent Peyrègne, CEO, Wan-Ifra, France.
Wan-Ifra’s annual report results depict the news media industry increasingly building loyal audiences around high-quality journalism, as content becomes a driving force to sustain readership and circulation.
10:15: Panel discussion: New technology is inevitable. While it alters the working process in an organisation, it is necessary to bridge the gap between editorial, technical and business functions for accomplishing company goals, and surviving in the news media business.
The discussion will be moderated by KN Shanth Kumar, director, The Printers (Mysore). Speakers include Mukund Padmanabhan, editor, The Hindu; Sandeep Gupta, executive president, Dainik Jagran; Anand Pandey, national editor, DB Corp; Sharad Saxena, executive director – operations, HT Media.
11:30: Print media trends and distribution models: Newspapers, a major source of news consumption, are a dominant revenue source for the publishing industry. This session will discuss the trends in print media, how print is resilient to disruption, how various innovations, print process changes, and new business models are helping print to survive in the digital era.
15:30: Operational excellence: Operational costs are ever increasing in newspaper printing. Maintaining printing presses and annual budgets is incredibly tedious in the current scenario, and the skyrocketing newsprint price only adds to the burden. Therefore, a good waste-management practice and other familiar printing business models can help keep the printing business profitable.
16:30: International Color Quality Club awards
27 September 2018
09:30: Quality and process efficiency: Newspapers must boast of high-quality to compete with other mediums. Wan-Ifra’s International Color Quality Club competition and ISO certification inspires printers across the world to print newspapers at international quality standards.
14:00: Future of news media business: The news media business became dynamic, and challenges are enormous for both, print and digital mediums. For print, cost-cutting and sustaining profit margins alone will not work because of factors such as declining advertisement and circulation and increasing raw material prices being a constant threat. Understanding the world of print and innovative use of the medium can help us survive in the business.
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