Recently by Larry Kilman

"Our mind has changed from what we thought we would do at the beginning and what we intend to do now," said Tim Rowell, Director of Mobile Product Development at the Telegraph, speaking at the WAN-IFRA America Latina conference in Bogota, Colombia.

What caused the Telegraph to change its approach is surprising. Read more.

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Staffan Hulten, head of Research and Analysis of Media in Sweden, describes research people like himself as "humble people, and extremely boring." But his presentation to the World Newspaper Advertising Conference in Malta today was anything but boring.

Mr Hulten, whose company does research for 560 publications in 17 countries representing over 300 million readers, showed how advertising effectiveness, measured in recall and click rates is declining online, and how mobile and tablet devices are providing very positive indications for advertising effectiveness.

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The 21st World Newspaper Advertising Conference opened in Malta on Thursday with what might seem to some to be a revolutionary concept: print will continue to be a unique advantage in the advertising world for many years to come, despite rhetoric to the contrary about all things digital.

Though the rapid growth of digital revenues and usage is significant, print continues to provide the bulk of revenues to newspaper companies - even in light of the "second wave" of digital developments on mobiles and tablets. And even where digital advertising revenues are approaching and surpassing those of print, the traditional print newspaper continues to produce large revenues and profits, from both sales and advertising.

More can be found here.

With a young population, growing advertising market and with hope of new found freedom, the Middle East newspaper industry is set to take off.

That was the assessment that emerged from the 6th annual WAN-IFRA Middle East Conference in Dubai, where more than 250 newspaper publishers, editors and other senior executives from the region gathered to discuss strategies for building their print and digital businesses. The two-day conference ended Wednesday; summaries of the presentations can be found here.

A year ago, publishing on the iPad wasn't on anyone's agenda. Now it seems as if it's all anyone wants to talk about.

Here's what Holm Münstermann, Head of Strategy & Advertising at Axel Springer, Europe's largest newspaper publisher, has to say: "We see the iPad app as the new print."

The reason for this optimism is that the iPad can combine the best of both print and digital - unlike an online portal, it has a beginning and end, and it can be read offline. But it also allows for digital storytelling, navigation, other attributes of the digital world.

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.