Future of media business: The CEOs of India's leading news media companies discuss the state of media business, the future of print and the way forward for news media companies in India. 

Print-Online Performance Gap

Just when one thought the old print vs. digital debate was no longer useful, along comes a study to stir the flames. Despite having been written off countless times in the past, the printed newspaper stubbornly refuses to die. It is astounding to witness the tenacity with which the more than 400-years-old news medium asserts itself in the digital era. The study suggests to play to the strengths of where newspapers’ audience and revenues mostly reside. A look into the reality of printed newspaper today and in the future. 

Manfred Werfel, Deputy CEO, WAN-IFRA, Germany.

Newspaper printing in digital world 

Axel Springer, Germany's leading newspaper manages to attract its reader base amidst the digital disruption, by adopting innovative methods and strategies following its publishing competence - A case study.

Knud Kraft, Head of Production, Axel Springer, Berlin, Germany.

Unconventional strategies

Learning from book publishing industry, how in spite of digital reach, printed book publishing is flourishing. What are the structural changes book publishing went through and how successful publisher turned it to their advantage.

Bimal Mehta, Executive Director of Vakil & Sons Pvt. Ltd., India. 

Facebook for publishers and journalists: An interactive session where you can learn about the platform, insights, new product updates, global case studies and more.

Field reporting and archival research

Shoe-leather and paper: The importance of field reporting and archival research is more than relevant today. How to adopt it to modern day practices? - A case study.

Michael Schmidt, Media consultant, South Africa.

News credibility

News credibility in the digital age: As news distribution gets democratised and audience habits change rapidly, how are different stakeholders responding?

Unni Balakrishnan, Chief of News, Mathrubhumi Television, India. 

Panel Discussion on trust and quality of news

Panel members

Michael Schmidt, Media consultant, South Africa.

Bella Hurrell, Asst. Editor, BBC News, UK.

Arun Ram, Editor, The Times of India, India.

Chaired by 

Sitaraman Shankar, Managing Editor, Network 18, India.

The second edition of WAN-IFRA's prestigious Awards to recognise publishers who have adopted digital media and mobile strategies as part of their total product offering will be presented. Winners will presented trophies and some of them will present their winning work.

For information on SDMA click here

Improved newsprint for high-value products

As newspaper printing companies are opting for new business models, high performance and high bright newsprint will help them to produce the products with great quality without any compromise in the performance - A presentation from UPM. 

Anu Ahola, Senior Vice President, UPM, Germany.

How (special) inks can help to attract new business for newspaper printers

How speacial inks such as UV, High pigmented inks etc.,  help newspaper printers to offer a great line of value added products to customers - A presentation from Huber Group, India.

S S Kulkarni, General Manager - Technical, Huber Group, India.

Greenolution

Greenolution (Green Evolution) as holistic sustainable solution for eco-friendly printing technology in plates, chemicals and consumables, helping to offer improved print products. How does it help the industry?

Amit Khurana, COO - Newspaper Group, TechNova, India.

Newspaper distribution system overview

How is the distribution of newspaper worldwide organised? In spite of the latest in newspaper printing, the delivery of the printed newspaper in time early in the morning to the reader still remains a challenge. How are the advanced newspaper operations worldwide manage newspaper distribution? - An overview.

Manfred Werfel, Deputy CEO, WAN-IFRA, Germany.

Automated newspaper distribution system

Rheinische Post handles the newspaper delivery of not just their copies, but also of their competitive titles. Automated MIS and systematic planning approach has helped them to reach the newspaper to the reader on time - A case study.

Michael Kiesswetter, Managing Director, Rheinische Post AdLog GmbH, Germany.

Audience development using Big data

Print or Digital, audience development is the primary goal of a publishing company. How the development of Big data analytics helps the news publishers audience development initiatives - A case study.

Edward Walker, Editor (Digital), Trinity Mirror Regionals, UK.

Award winning case study on User engagement

‘No more going to the jungle’ is the award-winning campaign from Dainik Jagran and is an example of fine reader engagement which won them award in WAN-IFRA's Asian Media Awards this year - A case study from Dainik Jagran on their experiences in reader engagement initiatives.

Basanth Rathore, Sr.VP - Strategic planning, Brand & Business development, Jagran Group.

Non-newspaper products in printing presses

How newspaper printing press could be used to produce non-newspaper products such as books, magazines. What are all the additional investments needed in the printing press and mailroom systems -Business model from a leading publisher.

V S Narayanan, General Manager, Dinamalar, India.

Mailroom innovations for Indian market

Leading mailroom system suppliers share their modern and innovative mailroom products for Indian market. 

Kurt Naef, Regional Sales Director, Muller Martini, Switzerland.

Per Hallendorff, Executive Project Director, Schur Packaging, Sweden.

Marcel Binder, Sales Director, Ferag AG, Switzerland.

Ultimate Paper Guide - OPHAL

Being a demanding cargo, newsprint handling requires specialised techniques, tools and facilities for handling, logistics, storage and preparation for printing. Any reduction in their waste and damage improves both economic and environmental performance. Presentation on ultimate paper guide - OPHAL.

Manfred Werfel, Deputy CEO, WAN-IFRA, Germany. 

Fake news and future of journalism

How news publishing companies could protect the interest of readers for the better future.

Shadi Rahimi, Senior Producer, Al Jazeera, USA.