The roundtables -- on digital media, press freedom and young reader strategies -- are a regular feature of the eve of the Congress, Forum and Expo, the annual meetings of the world's press organised by the World Association of Newspapers.
More than 1500 publishers, chief editors and other senior newspaper executives are expected to attend the events, which will be hosted by the Newspaper Association of South Africa. There is still time to register: full conference information, including the programmes, a list of participants and registration information, can be found at www.wan-press.org/capetown2007.
Keller will speak about the need for a press “watchdog” in Africa during the press freedom roundtable that will focus on the role of the independent press in increasing good governance and development in Africa. He will be joined in the session on watchdog journalism by Kwame Karikari, executive director of the Network of African Freedom of Expression Organisations and the Media Foundation for West Africa, and Azbuike Ishiekwene, executive director of Punch in Nigeria.
Mugaas will examine profitable classified advertising strategies during the digital media roundtable. Other sessions in the seminar include: how to identify multiple digital revenue streams; the newspaper becomes a broadcaster; news from Yahoo! – future development opportunities for newspapers; digital gaming – new “sticky” content for newspaper sites; and World Digital Media Trends, the new research report by WAN on revenues and audiences at newspaper Internet sites.
The third roundtable, on winning strategies for engaging young readers, will be led by François Dufour, founder of Playbac Presse in France and one of the world's leading experts on attracting young people to newspapers. The seminar will examine such topics as: how the new generation differs from past generations -- and how it doesn't; engaging a newsroom to tackle the challenge of reaching younger readers; case studies of successful cases; and more.
Other speakers include: Robert Barnard, a partner in Canada-based D-Code, which is conducting a major research project on young readership for WAN; Montserrat Lluis, associate editorial director of the Vocento Group in Spain; Lisa Blakeway, founder of READright in South Africa; Jeanne-Emmanuel Gapsys-Hutin, a journalist with Ouest-France; and Aralynn McMane, director of Young Readership Development for WAN.
In addition to the session on watchdog journalism, the press freedom roundtable will also discuss the impact of “insult” laws and criminal defamation, and the best ways to place a free and independent press higher on the international agenda.
Other speakers at the press freedom roundtable include Fackson Banda, a media analyst and columnist from Zambia; Raymond Louw, editor and publisher of the Southern Africa Report, Pius Njawé, publisher of Le Messager in Cameroon, Alfred Dan Moussa, editor-in-chief of Franternité Matin in the Ivory Coast and VP of the Francophone Press Union.
Full details may be found at www.wan-press.org/Capetown2007.
The Congress, Forum and Expo also offer its tradition of networking opportunities and social events, which this year will include: a welcome reception at a “Cape Town street party” at the Castle of Good Hope, the oldest colonial building in SA; an African cultural evening at SA's world class wine estate, Spier, in the beautiful city of Stellenbosch; and a gala dinner at the Nederburg wine estate, with dramatic views of the Drakenstein Mountains, gardens and vineyards.
Delegates can also join the 2nd World Press Golf Tournament, sponsored by MAN Roland, at the Golf Estates course in Steenberg, which has been declared a national monument.
Sponsors of the Congress and the Forum now include Remgro, Richemont & VenFin, Mondi Shanduka Newsprint & Mondi International, the Sunday Times and Mont Blanc.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, represents 18 000 newspapers; its membership includes 76 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 10 regional and world-wide press groups.
