Business News
Conference Examines USA Todays Ties With Its Audience
Friday 29. October 2010 - David L. Hunke, the President and Publisher of USA Today, has joined the programme for the Readership Conference of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), to be held in San Francisco, California, on 16 and 17 November next.
Mr Hunke will present strategies for creating emotional bonds with audiences in a keynote address at the conference, which will examine what newspapers in both the US and elsewhere are doing to increase their audiences and revenues in tough times.
There is still time to register; full conference details can be found at www.wan-ifra.org/readership-conference.
USA Today, the largest newspaper in the United States, has pioneered a number of innovations and is known for being extremely “user-friendly”. It makes extensive use of explanatory graphics and multiple entry points for stories, has both a local and national focus and offers extensive sports and lifestyle coverage.
It is now undergoing significant restructuring, which includes moving away from newsroom multimedia integration to better take advantage of the unique characteristics of each individual medium.
Other speakers at the Readership Conference, organised by WAN-IFRA in cooperation with the Newspaper Association of America and the WAN-IFRA Newsplex, include:
Torry Pedersen, CEO of Verdens Gang AS, the pioneering Schibsted company in Norway, who will discuss how they facilitate conversations among their readers.
Terry Horne, President & Publisher of the Orange County Register, a newspaper which has reorganised to expand its reach and quality to benefit its readership.
Jennifer Carroll, Vice President/Senior Editor of ContentOne, who will give an insight into ethnographic research being carried out among different audience groups.
Martin Jönsson, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Svenska Dagbladet in Sweden, a newspaper which has managed to turn itself around and win more readers and subscribers in the process.
Doug Bennett, President of the Interactive Division of US-based Freedom Communications, a company which has experimented with paid-content models across a number of titles.
Steve Cvengros, General Manager of Homepage at msn.com, will talk about how MSN targets audiences with content across their website in order to maximise traffic and expand its audience base.
Anette Novak, Editor-in-Chief of Norran in Sweden, who will talk about how the newspaper connects with local readers by involving them in editorial planning.
Gary Olszewski, Director, Consumer Sales, Baltimore Sun, USA, who will give insights into successful loyalty programmes and strategies for reducing “churn”.
Plus many more. Full details here.
The event will also showcase exhibitors who provide solutions for reaching and increasing audiences across publishing platforms.