Hyderabad, Nov 26 (IANS) The who’s who of the global media will descend on Hyderabad for the 62nd World Newspapers Congress (WNC) beginning here Nov 30. Indian President Pratibha Patil will formally inaugurate the conclave by addressing a joint session of the WNC and the World Editors Forum (WEF) Dec 1.
Over 1,800 delegates from 60 countries, including almost all big names in the newspaper industry, will attend the four-day event to be held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC).

Preparations are in full swing for the event, which will be a combination of the 62nd WNC, 16th WEF and Info Services Expo.

This is for the first time that the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) is organising the prestigious event in South Asia in association with the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) and the Andhra Pradesh government.

At Info Services Expo, the suppliers to the newspaper industry such as newsprint suppliers, ink manufacturers, news agencies, content providers, machinery manufacturers, software and technology solution providers will exhibit their products and services.

The event will provide a platform for the delegates to exchange ideas on the current trends and problems in media, especially in the context of the global financial crisis.

The theme of the WNC is “Newspapers: A multi-media, growth business”.

The organisers said the presentations and discussions at the WNC would examine the strategies showing successes and challenges at leading news enterprises due to the economic downturn.

The theme of the World Editors Forum is “Doing more with less: the new newsroom challenge”.

Gavin O’Reilly, president of WAN-IFRA, Timothy Balding, chief executive officer of WAN-IFRA, Les Hinton, CEO of Dow Jones & Co., Paul Jansen, CEO of SPH Search, Singapore Press Holdings, Mark Hollands, CEO of Newspaper Publishers Association of Australia, and Paul Johnson, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian, are some of the prominent speakers.

Xavier Vidal-Folch, president of the World Editors Forum, will present the 2009 WAN Golden Pen of Freedom to Najam Sethi, editor-in-chief of the Friday Times and Daily Times of Pakistan.

There will also be a special session of the WEF South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA).

The Paris-based WAN, formed in 1948, defends and promotes press freedom and the professional and business interests of newspapers worldwide.

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 worldwide press groups.