Newsmedia Economic Action Plan Conference

By Invitation Only

September 13 - September 15, 2009

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Featured Discussion Leaders

Merrill Brown Founder & Principal, MMB Media LLC Session: Consumer Centric Experience: Refocus on readers and users

Josh Cohen Senior Business Product Manager, Google News Session: Fair Use & Fair Share: Steps to thwart unauthorized use of content and establish equitable share of the profits from linking and ad sales

Bill Densmore Principal, CircLabs Inc. Session: Digital Delivery: Distribution strategies and platforms that provide content-based e-commerce

Virginia B. Edwards President, Editorial Projects in Education; Editor in Chief and Publisher, Education Week and edweek.org Session: Digital Delivery: Distribution strategies and platforms that provide content-based e-commerce

Jim Kennedy Vice President; Director of Strategic Planning, The Associated Press Session: Fair Use & Fair Share: Steps to thwart unauthorized use of content and establish equitable share of the profits from linking and ad sales

Caroline H. Little Chief Executive for North America, Guardian News & Media Session: Digital Delivery: Distribution strategies and platforms that provide content-based e-commerce

Jim Pitkow CEO and co-founder, Attributor Corp. Session: Fair Use & Fair Share: Steps to thwart unauthorized use of content and establish equitable share of the profits from linking and ad sales

API’s “Newsmedia Economic Action Plan” addresses one of the most critical issues facing the news industry: generating revenue from online content. This conference -- which is based on the Institute’s integrated five-point plan to guide the news industry through the current disruptions and position itself for the future -- will provide a recommended agenda for action, including research and case studies of the most promising paid content plans.

This is a “by invitation only” conference for API’s Corporate Members and will be limited to 50 attendees. It is the first in a series of special events designed for organizations that financially support the Institute. Large and small newspaper groups as well as independent newspapers in community and metro markets will be represented in this program – a true microcosm of the industry. 

The Program

Sunday evening, Sept. 13

• Reception at M&S Grill

Monday, Sept. 14

• Original research by Belden Interactive assessing paid content opportunities. 
• Case studies on newspapers that recently have launched paid content initiatives. Learn the step-by-step process -- from research and market analysis to strategic planning and launch – as well as missteps to avoid. 
• Discussions that revolve around developing content strategies that can be monetized, fair use of original content, fair share of revenues generated from reused content, and digital delivery models. 
• Breakout sessions devoted to brainstorming content and revenue ideas and developing personalized “next steps” action plans.

Tuesday morning, Sept. 15

• Participants report on the breakout discussions and receive feedback from conference facilitators, who will challenge them to think beyond current capabilities and short-term solutions. 
• Positioning for the future: new business models, new tools and new customer relationships for the survival of the industry.

The event is designed so that attendees will play as much of a major role as invited experts. Participants will have the rare opportunity to develop a shared vision of the way forward and will take home available models and actionable recommendations.

The Facilitators

Merrill Brown, veteran journalist, media executive and consultant, has worked for print, broadcast and Internet outlets. He also was a pioneer in the delivery of online news, having been the first editor-in-chief of MSNBC.com. He is the founder and principal of MMB Media LLC, which provides clients with management and strategy consulting, corporate, editorial and program development, business analysis and marketing services. Now consulting with Journalism Online LLC, he brings the perspectives of business developer and vendor to the discussion.

Josh Cohen is responsible for global product strategy, marketing and publisher outreach as senior business product manager for Google News, a computer-generated news site that aggregates headlines from news sources worldwide. He has a background as vice president of business development for Reuters Media and as director of business development for SmartMoney.com, a joint venture between Dow Jones and Hearst. He brings deep knowledge of online business strategy, content distribution, licensing and revenue generation.

Bill Densmore is a career journalist, publisher, entrepreneur, director of the Media Giraffe Project, collaborator on Journalism That Matters and founder of the online payment service Clickshare. During the 2008-2009 academic year, as a fellow at the University of Missouri’s Reynolds Journalism Institute, he directed The Information Valet Project.  He is now one of four principals in CircLabs Inc., an outgrowth of the project that is developing workable business models for news. He brings a unique blend of experience in content and commerce.

Virginia B. Edwards is president of Editorial Projects in Education and editor in chief and publisher of Education Week and edweek.org. Currently, edweek.org serves up more than 2 million page views to hundreds of thousands of unique visitors each month. Currently, edweek.org serves up more than two million page views to hundreds of thousands of unique visitors each month and is showing impressive numbers in paid online content.

Greg Harmon, Belden Interactive's CEO and managing director, founded and developed Belden Interactive as a division of the former Belden Associates in April 2000. His new research provides critical audience information that examines obstacles and opportunities presented by paid access to content. In addition to his research findings, he will facilitate a discussion of case studies that analyze audience behaviors, risks and returns associated with subscriptions and micropayments, and the lessons learned from initial efforts. He brings a deep knowledge of consumer behavior and up-to-the-minute research.

Jim Kennedy, The Associated Press’s vice president and director of strategic planning, leads strategic planning across all divisions of the world's largest news organization, including services for print, broadcast and new media. He will discuss the changes at AP to get the news to the next generation of news consumers, a partnership with CircLabs that provides access to Exchange, AP’s fast-growing news search engine, and AP’s policy on fair use of content that originates in newspapers. He offers insight into organizing unique content to be accessible and searchable online.

Dale Peskin, founder and managing director of iFOCOS, the media think tank and futures lab, and the global We Media conferences, is a media visionist and entrepreneur. He is a widely engaged expert on media and communications business and creative strategies, information design and innovation. He is a former editor and news company executive who, as early as 1996, forecast the rise and impact of social media on the news industry. He has worked extensively with news organizations globally to facilitate social and economic change within the industry. He brings deep knowledge of the Web’s capability for direct interaction with consumers.

Jim Pitkow is the CEO and co-founder of Attributor Corp. and chairman of Anchor Intelligence. Attributor’s “fingerprinting” technology identifies copies of articles and videos on the Web, reports instances where the content has been copied and estimates the size of the audience that has viewed the piece. It is the engine behind the Fair Syndication Consortium, an initiative to share in the ad revenue generated by pirated news content, estimated at $250 million annually. He brings technology and revenue expertise to the discussion.

Conference Attendees:  Please read the Program FAQs for complete information about the conference.

Survey Preview

NEAP White Paper

Revenue Initiatives 2009

2009 Summary Report

The Particulars

Please read:
:: API's Registration, Tuition and Hotel Policies
:: Special requirements for international members

Location: Reston, Virginia

(This seminar has already occured)