Recently by Larry Kilman

Newspapers around the globe are innovating their advertising practices in many ways, both big and small, and the best examples were on display this week at the World Newspaper Advertising Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

As advertising and sales revenues are hit both by recession and increasing competition, newspaper companies are rapidly developing a wide array of new revenue possibilities. The conference, which closed on Friday, examined many of the new trends - and some unusual projects that show just how flexible newspapers can be. Two major themes emerged from the conference, organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA): better audience and advertising effectiveness research is essential, and the traditional business model for newspapers - gaining revenue from advertising and sales - can be enhanced in a modern media company.

Eamonn Byrne, business director of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), opened the 20th World Newspaper Advertising Conference in Copenhagen today with an overview of advertising trends. Many markets reported a 30 percent to 40 percent drop last year.

The United States, for example, was particularly hard hit ­ a 29 percent drop in newspaper advertising revenues in the third quarter of 2009, according to the Newspaper Association of America. And Zenith Optimedia said there was a 13.1 percent average fall in advertising revenues world-wide in the first half of 2009. But Mr Byrne said it was important to remember that it isn't only media companies that suffered in 2009  the downturn hit nearly all industries. And the forecasts for 2010, for the most part, expect improvement.

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has expressed absolute dismay and condemnation of the horrific massacre of 12 journalists, in an attack on a convoy in the southern Philippines which killed at least 46 people.

The journalists were travelling with a group of politicians and political supporters planning to file nomination papers for Esmael Mangudadatu, an opposition gubernatorial candidate in Maguindanao province, when the attack occurred on 23 November.

A radical transformation of the newspaper editorial and business models is underway, and it goes far beyond the current "pay wall" debate about charging for on-line content.

These strategies call for reorganising editorial and business departments, focusing on premium content, and above all, good storytelling, according to the Innovation International Media Consulting Group, which will make a major presentation around these ideas at the World Newspaper Congress, World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2009, to be held in Hyderabad, India, from 30 November to 3 December next.

PPF Media has been getting a lot of international attention lately for its hyperlocal news project in the Czech Republic that is built around Starbucks-style "news cafes" in local communities. CEO Roman Gallo provided an update Friday at the 2015 Newsroom Conference, and the project seems to be working.
 
Thirteen weeks after launch in four Czech regions, circulation of the paid-for weeklies is growing, as it web traffic. And the cafes are quickly becoming a centre of community life, with meetings, concerts, dance lessons and other events organised for local residents.
 
Editorial staff sit in the middle of the cafes, without walls or doors, allowing regular interaction with local residents. Fifty percent of new subscriptions come from people who come in for coffee and conversaton.
 
 "The readers can go there and be in contact.," said Gallo.  "For the editorial team, they're much more open to talk to people, to understand the problems of the people in the region."
 
If the success continues, the company expects a year-long nationwide rollout of 220 weeklies, 89 news cafes and 700 websites.
 
Bertrand Pecquerie, Director of the World Editors Forum, which organised the 2015 Newsroom Conference, said hyperlocal news was a clear trend for newspapers. "Print isn't dead, and hyperlocal news is the future of newspapers, with new players," he said.
 
Community newspapers have been around for decades, but there are several innovations, in addition to the news cafes, that make PPF's Nase Adresa project different:
 
- About a third of the content is provided by local communities - fishermen, firemen, mothers with young children etc. - but none of it goes into the paper or websites without input from a journalist, called a "community manager."
 
"This is a total change for journalists," said Gallo. "Our journalists are not traditional journalist who see something and tell the community about it. We changed the job - they're trainers, coaches, they work with the communities."
 
- The weekly papers and websites are standardized in terms of layout, graphics and features. "We call it 'Media MacDonald's', we have very strong rules, that must be fulfilled at the local level," said Gallo.
 
- A central editor oversees all publications, and support is also centralized through the Futuroom media training complex, which not only provides training but also infographics, data mining and other services (the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers is a partner in Futuroom).
 
While the news cafes and other innovations makes the project worth watching, the strategy is, in fact, based on something very traditional for newspapers.
 
"The advantage of the publishing company is unique content, which you can't find anywhere else, and it has to be credible content," said Gallo. "That's the model that worked for newspapers for 100 years, and I have no doubt it will work for another 100 years."
 
Follow the 2015 Newsroom Conference on Twitter.
 

Google often touts the massive traffic it drives to newspaper Web sites - 1 billion click throughs from Google News per month. But what if that traffic is all but worthless?

That was the heart of the debate today in the opening session of the 2015 Newsroom Conference, organised by the World Editors Forum at PPF Media's Futuroom complex in Prague. Santiago de la Mora, head of print content partnerships for Google News in Europe, cited the massive traffic figure. But Matt Kelly, associate editor of the Daily Mirror and mirror.co.uk, questions its value.

Zero Hora of Brazil and Express & Echo of the United Kingdom have been named World Young Reader Newspapers of the Year for two vital kinds of excellence in the annual competition organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishing (WAN-IFRA).

The awards are part of WAN-IFRA¹s annual World Young Reader Prize competition, which honours innovative newspapers that have devised the best project or activity to attract young readers. The awards are made in six categories: branding, public service, press freedom, editorial, and in "making the news.

The World Association of Newspapers and IFRA, the leading international associations for print and digital news publishing, have merged into a new organisation, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

The combined new organisation will represent more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3000 companies in more than 120 countries. WAN-IFRA is dedicated "to be the indispensable partner of newspapers and the entire news publishing industry worldwide, particularly our members, in the defense and promotion of press freedom, quality journalism and editorial integrity, and the development of prosperous businesses and technology."

Media literacy programmes help students learn to read news critically, but often leave them ignorant and cynical about the essential role of a free press in society, a study has found.

The study of 239 University of Maryland undergraduates to evaluate the effectiveness of media literacy education, the largest study of its kind, found that such courses increase their ability to understand, evaluate and analyse media messages. But the courses often turn out cynics who lack an understanding of the media¹s essential role in democracy.

The future is unpredictable, but that doesn't mean you can't do something about it. That message is particularly important for the newspaper industry and is the basis of "Scenario Planning for Newspaper Companies," the latest report from the SFN project.

Scenario planning – the practice of imagining a variety of possible futures and planning strategies to cope with them -- allows businesses to take a pro-active approach and prepare for many contingencies.

The World Association of Newspapers and other publishers organisations on Wednesday welcomed Google CEO Eric Schmidt's statement supporting the aim of the Automated Content Access Protocol (ACAP) to give publishers more control over the use of their content.

Speaking to a reporter in Sydney earlier this week, Schmidt said the only barriers to Google's implementation of ACAP were technical, and he denied that Google was reluctant to embrace the system because of commercial self-interest. "It is not that we don't want them (publishers) to be able to control their information," he said.

Everything about media is changing rapidly, perhaps nothing more quickly than advertising.

Eighteen months after combining three publishing companies into one multi-media group, Belgium's De Persgroep is ready to report on the lessons of its transformation at the World Newspaper Congress, to be held in Göteborg, Sweden, from 1 to 4 June next.

Christian Van Thillo, chief executive officer of De Persgroep, will discuss what worked and what didn't after the merger of Aurex, De Morgen and Magnet Magazines into De Persgroep in November 2006.

The World Editors Forum has re-launched its Editors Weblog to increase functionality and make it easier to navigate.