Indonesia to host WAN-IFRA's Publish Asia 2012

"Indonesia's news media is in exciting phase given the country's resilience, economic development and plurality of expression," said Agung Adiprasetyo, the chief executive officer of Indonesia's leading national newspaper group, Kompas Gramedia. "We feel very proud of this achievement and it is therefore an honour and a great pleasure for us to welcome this prestigious newspaper convention in Indonesia for the first time."

For its 12th edition, Publish Asia will take the theme, "Shaping the Future of News Publishing" and focus on case studies showing how media companies across the globe are defining and implementing innovative strategies to secure their future. More than 600 newspaper executives from Asia Pacific and the Middle East are expected to attend the three-day event.

Confirmed speakers

First confirmed speakers include: Jack Matthews, the CEO of Fairfax Metro, Australia; Dipankar Das Purkayastha, managing director & CEO at ABP Pte Ltd, India; Paul Jansen, chairman & founder, aSpecialMedia, Singapore; Mike Savage, VP content and editor of the Asia Media JournalMyanmar Times and Phnom Penh Post; Sanjoy Narayan, editor-in-chief, The Hindustan Times, India; and Juan Señor, partner, Innovation Media Consulting, UK.

"Indonesia is a very young country," said Azrul Ananda, the president and director of Jawa Pos, Indonesia's largest newspaper group with over 180 dailies spread over the country. "Half of the population is actually below 29 years old. This means that there is a lot of enthusiasm and energy flowing in our society and in our newspapers. I have no doubt that Publish Asia's delegates will feel and get inspired by this positive energy."

WAN-IFRA's Asia Pacific Committee chose Bali for its easy accessibility and the excellent flight connections with all major Asian cities. Additionally, Bali also boasts of world-class conference facilities at the newly opened Convention Centre, where the APEC and ASEAN summits were held. "Bali is well known for its beautiful beaches and natural beauty," said Satria Naradha, the president and director of Bali Post. "We are eagerly looking forward to welcome our peers from across the region and extend our Balinese hospitality!"

Publish Asia 2012 will cover the management, advertising, newsroom and production aspects of the newspapers and news publishing business. It will include the following:

The CEO Conference will look at how the media landscape is changing and how publishers can adapt and define their strategies to ensure a successful future.

The Newsroom Summit will tackle the problems and challenges facing editors, managing editors, news editors, chief reporters and all those who are involved in leading and managing newsrooms in a multiple media environment.

The Printing Summit, aimed especially at technical and production directors, prepress and plant managers as well as IT heads who are tasked with managing the publishing and printing operations, will concentrate on new technologies and trends with a special emphasis on cost-saving tools and techniques in production.

The Advertising Summit aims to cover the latest trends that are currently transforming the relationship between media companies, advertisers and agencies.

The Expo will showcase the latest technology and service offerings for optimising newspaper production on print as well as on new media platforms, while one-day learning seminars will offer in-depth insights on specific topics.

Winners of the much awaited Asia Media Awards 2012 will be presented during the Asia Media Awards Gala Dinner on 11 April. Two new award categories will honour this year the best publications in newspaper marketing and in community service. There is still a few days to enter: the deadline for entries submission is on 10 February 2012. (http://www.wan-ifra.org/ama).