Reader participation, user-generated content and social networks are having an impact on journalism, and that impact is likely to grow in the future. But will Web 2.0 give birth to a new form of journalism? That question will be examined at the annual World Editors Forum (WEF), to be held in Sweden 1 – 4 June 2008.
The session on participatory journalism will discuss both the positives and negatives of "sharing" the news process and how these two forms of collective intelligence – the newsroom and the audience – can better collaborate.
Confirmed speakers include Nikesh Arora, VP of European Operations for Google; Kathleen Carroll, SVP and executive editor of The Associated Press; Bosse Svensson, general director of MKT Media in Sweden, and Pierre Bellanger, CEO and founder of Skyblogs and Skyrock in France, and other speakers to be announced. George Brock, editor of the Saturday Times and president of WEF, will chair the session.
The forum will be held concurrently with the World Newspaper Congress and Info Services Expo in Göteborg, Sweden, 1 – 4 June. More than 1500 chief editors, publishers, CEOs, MDs and other senior newspaper executives and their guests are expected in Sweden for the events, the global meetings of the world's press.
Other sessions
Other World Editors Forum sessions include:
- Exclusive research on the new consumption model for news from The Associated Press, and the annual "Newsroom Barometer" survey from WEF, Reuters and Zogby International that provides insight into newsroom strategies worldwide. The opening session features Jim Kennedy, VP and director of strategic planning for AP, Robbie Blinkoff, principal anthropologist with Context Research in the US, John Zogby, president of Zogby International, and Monique Villa, head of news for Reuters.
- Are integrated newsrooms really working? The session will look at the advantages and drawbacks of merging print and online newsrooms. Speakers include Javier Moreno, editor-in-chief of El Pais in Spain, Bruno Patino, president of Le Monde Interactif in France, Jim Roberts, editor of digital news for The New York Times, Almar Latour, managing editor of the Wall Street Journal's wsj.com, and Lisbeth Knudsen, CEO of Det Berlingske Officin and editor-in-chief of Berlingske Tidende in Denmark.
- Are mobile news and 'mojos' changing journalism? The session is dedicated to the opportunities of "small screen journalism" which has yet to reach full potential but is seen as a growth area for the future. The session will include Paul Cheesebrough, CIO for Telegraph Media Group in the UK, Ilicco Ella, product manager for mobile & emerging media at Reuters, Rafat Ali, editor-in-chief of paidContent.org and MocoNews.net, Oscar Westlund, a Göteborg University expert of mobile news, and other speakers to be announced.
- The hyper-local news model : a solution for print and online. This session will examine mapping, geotagging and local search engines, which are changing the way services and news will be provided online. Speakers include Reetta Merilaïnen, editor-in-chief of Helsingin Sanomat in Finland, Elin Olofsson, news editor of Östersunds Posten in Sweden, Jane Singer a professor at Lancashire Business School in the UK, and Steve Paulussen, a senior researcher at Ghent University in Belgium.
- Digital media training for the new newsroom. The session will feature Chris Lloyd, assistant managing editor of the Daily Telegraph in the UK, David Dunkley Gyimah, senior lecturer in digital journalism at the University of Westminster in the UK, Werner Eggert, editor-in-chief of Tide in Germany, and Bertrand Pecquerie, director of the World Editors Forum.
- Weekends win over weekdays. This session will explore the opportunities to increase the loyalty of newspaper readers through weekend editions, which in many countries are performing better than weekday editions in terms of circulation. Speakers will include Edward Greenspon, editor-in-chief of Canada's Globe & Mail, Franck Denton, VP for journalism with Morris Communications in the US, Erik Bjerager, editor-in-chief of Kristeligt Dagblad in Denmark, and José-Manuel Fernandes, editor-in-chief of Publico in Portugal.
- 2007 – 2008 print and online launches. The session will feature Gianni Valenti, deputy editor of Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy, Ignacio Escolar, editor-in-chief of Publico, Spain, Pierre Haski, Founder and editor-in-chief of Rue89.com in France, Raju Nasiretti, managing editor of Mint in India, and Dominic Young, director of editorial services, intellectual property, for News International Ltd in the UK.
- Content management systems: what fits best in your integrated newsroom. The session will feature chief editors explaining why they have chosen content management systems from Atex, Eidos Media, E-Scenic, CCI or Polopoly. Speakers include Felix Soh, supervising editor at Singapore Press Holdings, Peter Sijpersma, editor-in-chief of Dagblad van het Noorden in the Netherlands, Luc Petitfrère, deputy editor-in-chief of Edipresse in Switzerland, Patrick Saliën, manager of Nieuwsblad.be in Belgium, and Oliver Michalsky, deputy editor-in-chief of Die Welt in Germany.
Sponsors for the events now include Volvo, Holmen Paper, SAS, Bonnier, the Stampen Group, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Tidningsutgivarna, V-Tab, Latte, VLT, RIA, StingPlay and Taxi Göteborg.
WEF, organised by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and hosted by the Swedish Newspaper Association, will also feature many other events, including daily breakfasts, cocktails and other opportunities to network with editors from around the world. Full details are available at www.wansweden2008.com.
