The global consultancy PriceWaterhouseCoopers will unveil a major new research project on the future of newspaper publishing at the new Power of Print Conference & Expo, to be held in Barcelona, Spain, on 27 and 28 May next.

The research, conducted in cooperation with the World Association of Newspapers, includes surveys of consumers, advertisers and publishers and provides some surprising insights into the market outlook for newspapers in coming years.

Marieke van der Donk, Senior Manager for Entertainment & Media at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, will examine current industry trends and forecast where these might lead in her conference presentation, which will includes analyses of industry and company reports. She will also examine a range of new technologies, both for their influence consumer behaviour and their impact on newspaper companies.

The Power of Print conference is the first global conference for senior newspaper executives to explore new opportunities and successful strategies exclusively for the printed newspaper. Although digital innovation is a primary area of newspaper industry development, print and advertising continue to fund these new ventures, as well as being the profit centres for the vast majority of newspaper companies, even in these tough times.

The Power of Print conference, on 27 and 28 May, will be followed by the World Newspaper Advertising Conference, on the 28th and 29th May, at the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I in the heart of Barcelona. Full details of the Power of Print conference can be found at http://www.wan-press.org/powerofprint2009/home.php . Details of the Advertising conference can be found at http://www.wan-press.org/advertising2009/home.php

Other Power of Print presentations include:

- “The facts about newspapers, profitable print trends,” a keynote speech by Gavin O'Reilly, Chief Operating Officer, Independent News & Media Plc & WAN President.

- “Investing in the Future of the Printed Newspaper,” by Dr Seok Hyun Hong, Chairman, of Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo.

- Case studies of projects that can add millions of dollars to the bottom line, by Steve Reed, Director of Circulation Operations/Single Copy for the Arizona Republic, who will examine SoftBook technology, and Jerry Brown, Director in the Advisory Services Practice for PricewaterhouseCoopers, who will provide the latest distribution trends and strategies.

- An examination of News International’s Newsprinters operation, the world's largest printing plant for newspapers. One year after the 650-million-pound (US$917 million) printing plant began operations, it has become something more - an outsourcing success story and a symbol of print's viability in the digital age.

- “The art of balancing between print and digital,” by Mikael Pentikäinen, President of Sanoma News in Finland.

- “The Individual Newspaper. Micro-targeted products with high yields,” by Peter Vandevanter, Vice President for Targeted Products for MediaNews Group in the United States.

- “A process for successful product development,” by Kylie Davis, Managing Editor for  Editorial Business Development & Strategic Publishing at the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun-Herald in Australia.

- “Product Launches in Difficult Financial Times,” by Martim Avillez Figueiredo, Publisher and Editor-in-chief of the new  "I" daily in Portugal.

- “Boosting advertising through print publications: Lessons from the Gulf,” by Abdul Hamid, Editor-in-Chief of Gulf News in the United Arab Emirates.

- “Investing in print quality”, by Josef Aumiller, Vice President of PrintCity, an alliance of graphic arts companies that demonstrates how improved print quality leads to new products,  new advertising revenues and new sales.

- “Newspapers that  are increasing circulation,” by Fergus Sampson, CEO, Emerging Markets, Media24 in South Africa.

- “Design as a competitive advantage in a regional market,” by Rodrigo Fino, President of Garcia Media Latinoamérica, who will present the case of El Informador in Venezuela, a newspaper that redesigned last year and took the No. 1 spot in a competitive market.

- “Success with hyper-targeted print publications,” by Martha Stone, Director of the WAN Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project.

- “Printcasting: People-Powered Magazines,” by Dan Pacheco, Founder of Printcasting.com in the United States.

- “10 Important Lessons from three age-specific youth-targeted newspapers in France,” by François Dufour, Editor and Founder of Play Bac Presse in France.

Full details: http://www.wan-press.org/powerofprint2009/home.php

The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom and the professional and business interests of newspapers world-wide. Representing 18,000 newspapers, its membership includes 77 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 11 regional and world-wide press groups.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: [email protected]