The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), which is bringing its annual summit meeting of the world's press to Washington, D.C., in June, has announced the first confirmed speakers for the event, and it reads like a Who's Who of the global newspaper and news publishing world.
The 67th World News Media Congress, the 22nd World Editors Forum and the 25th World Advertising Forum, to be held from 1 to 3 June at the Washington Hilton, will include:
-- Andrew Miller, the CEO of the Guardian Media Group in the United Kingdom, which announced a major transformation programme to change from a print-based organisation to one that is digital-first in philosophy and practice;
-- Martin Baron, Executive Editor of The Washington Post, who oversees The Post's print and digital operations. Under Baron's leadership, The Post newsroom won two Pulitzer Prizes in 2014, including the prestigious public service medal for a series of stories based on classified documents leaked by Edward Snowden that exposed the National Security Agency's massive global surveillance programs.
-- Torry Pedersen, the CEO and Editor-in-chief of Verdens Gang, the leading news site/newspaper in Norway that is among the most profitable news organisations in Europe;
-- Eric Harris , Executive Vice President for Business Operations of Buzzfeed, who has been a key figure in developing its business model, new ventures, and growing the site's relationships with publishers and brands;
-- Emily Bell, Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, whose speech to the Reuters Institute last year was nothing less than the year's most definitive statement on the future of journalism;
-- Vivian Schiller, former president and CEO of National Public Radio and former global chair of news at Twitter and one of the world's most compelling executives at the forefront of media and technology;
-- Marta Gleich, Executive Editor of Zero Hora, the leading newspaper of the South of Brazil, known for its digital innovation and for opening space for its readers;
-- Plus many more
More than 1,200 publishers, CEOs, Chief Editors, Managing Directors and other senior news publishing executives are expected to attend the Congress, Editors Forum and Advertising Forum, which will also include a World Media Policy Forum for the first time to look at the issue of internet governance and other issues of growing concern. The 2015 events are organised in cooperation with the Newspaper Association of America.
