March 26, 2009 -- Lexington, Kentucky USA -- WhatTheyThink.com today announced that more than 500 industry professionals registered to attend a free printing industry economic webinar with forecaster and commentator Dr. Joe Webb, held Wednesday, March 25th, 2009.  Recession-related topics in the ongoing WhatTheyThink webinar series continue to draw a large audience as industry professionals seek the best avenues for maintaining and growing their businesses during these difficult times.

The archive of the webinar is available here.

This one-hour event examined the current state of the economy as the new Administration gets underway and suggested ways for printing businesses to position themselves for strength as the economy rebounds. Topics addressed included:

• The recession scorecard:  Where are we now?
• The latest WhatTheyThink survey of the printing business
• Contrarian ways to grow your business and confound your competitors
• Spring forward with Dr. Joe’s latest reading list

“Despite the passage of the economic stimulus bill and the other stimulus tools the government is putting into place, there are still many questions about the ultimate impact on the economy,” said Randy Davidson, President, WhatTheyThink. “Dr. Webb brings a realistic view of what is really happening in the economy and where we can find opportunities for businesses to grow.  If you missed this session live, you will want to visit the WhatTheyThink webinar archive to take advantage of the insight he provides.”

“In our December outlook, we said we thought the fourth quarter of 2008 was the worst of the recession,” said Dr. Webb. “Since that time, the new Administration has found economic traction to be difficult, and we have seen an increased move toward protectionism and business regulation in the U.S. Our forecasts remain relatively the same.  The economic stress is also accelerating the migration to alternative media. As an industry we need to make an effort to ensure that print is viewed as an essential part of the media package in a multichannel world.  Educating ourselves and our customers in this area is one of the most important things we need to do for the future of print.”

Dr. Joe Webb is the director of WhatTheyThink.com's Economics and Research Center, where managers, researchers and analysts can find free and premium content about industry trends, including forecasts and more. Dr. Webb is a recognized marketing authority, forecaster and one of the best known speakers in our industry. He also contributes a weekly column at WhatTheyThink.com for Premium Access Members entitled “Mondays with Dr. Joe” as well as a regular writer on PrintCEOblog.com. His “Audio Chart of the Week” is a favorite feature among subscribers of the WhatTheyThink site.

Last quarter’s webinar can be accessed at: http://members.whattheythink.com/home/webinars/webinar081210.cfm

About WhatTheyThink.com

WhatTheyThink.com is the printing and publishing industry's leading media organization; offering a wide range of publications delivering unbiased, real-time market intelligence, industry news, economic and trend analysis, peer-to-peer communication, and special reports on emerging technology and critical events. Serving a membership base of more than 50,000, WhatTheyThink.com also hosts webinars and live events as well as providing content through a syndication program, which delivers content directly to related websites and through RSS.

About Dr. Joe Webb

Dr. Joe Webb is the director of WhatTheyThink.com's Economics and Research Center, where managers, researchers and analysts can find free and premium content about industry trends, including forecasts and more. Dr. Webb is a 30-year graphic arts veteran, a recognized marketing authority, forecaster and one of the best known speakers in our industry. He is known for his ability to interpret the latest market conditions in the graphic communications industries and translate what they mean for executives and their strategic decisions.  Since January 2003, his "Mondays with Dr. Joe" column has been a must-read feature on WhatTheyThink.com.

He is a Ph.D. graduate of the NYU Center for Graphic Communications Management and Technology (1987) and serves on the Center's Board of Advisors. He holds an MBA in Management Information Systems from Iona College (1981) and was a magna cum laude graduate in Managerial Sciences and Marketing from Manhattan College (1978), and was a member of the economics honor society. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in marketing, market research, quantitative analysis, business policy, and organizational behavior. He started in the industry with Agfa's Graphic Systems Division and was later a marketing executive with Chemco Photoproducts, entering consulting full time in 1987. Among his publications is the controversial "Renewing the Print Industry: A Contrarian's Constructive Perspective."