Why are 300+ of the world’s leading news media company executives attending the INMA World Congress in New York April 28-30? It’s about alternative revenue models, relevance to customers, and a new storyline for the news industry.

With programming and scheduling for the 83^rd Annual INMA World Congress nearly complete and more than 300 executives from the world’s leading news media companies pre-registered, attention for the April 28-30 conference in New York turns to practicalities: What can the news industry learn from it?

Under the theme “Monetizing the New Print + Digital Ecosystem,” programming is revenue- and business model-focused. The caliber of the speakers and the seniority of delegates provide a clear sense of urgency for the news industry.

The early discounted registration deadline is Friday, March 15. Complete conference information may be found at www.inma.org/worldcongress.

The conference focus is on the rapid development of alternative revenue streams to stem the tide of losses and slowdowns in print advertising, said Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of the International News Media Association (INMA).

“The news industry has an engaging story to tell about transformation, reinvention, and transition that runs counter to the doom and gloom arguments repeated by those who just scratch the surface of our industry.  INMA intends to lay out that story on the world’s biggest stage, New York,” Wilkinson said.

“Drawing together world-class speakers and world-class revenue stories, you begin to see light at the end of the tunnel,” he continued. “INMA’s unique ability to bring together global best practices from the world’s elite companies will show new revenue streams and a new commitment to relevance and transparency.”

Led by the INMA Board of Directors, the carefully crafted New York programme looks at 10 revenue streams that, added together, could preserve today’s scale of journalism at news media companies:

• Video.
  
  
• Private equity.
  
  
• Second-wave mobile.
  
  
• Advertising networks.
  
  
• Search advertising.
  
  
• Content marketing.
  
  
• Sponsored content.
  
  
• Portfolio extensions.
  
  
• Subscription bundles.
  
  
• Transactional e-commerce. 

To tell the story of these 10 revenue streams, INMA has put together a global speaker lineup second to none in the news industry worldwide:

• Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief, The Huffington Post Media Group.
  
  
• James L. McQuivey, Author, Digital Disruption: Unleashing the Next Wave of Innovation.
  
  
• Nizan Guanaes, chairman and founder, Grupo ABC.
  
  
• Jill Abramson, executive editor, The New York Times. 
  
  
• Vivian Schiller, senior vice president/chief digital officer, NBC News. 
  
  
• Michael Lamb, principal, McKinsey & Company.
  
  
• Shafqat Islam, CEO, NewsCred.
  
  
• Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO, INMA.

The conference will feature news industry cultural and business model transformation stories:

• Advance Publications, USA: Randy Siegel, president, local digital strategy, and Ricky Mathews, publisher, The Times-Picayune.
  
  
• The Atlantic, USA: M. Scott Havens, president. 
  
  
• Ekstra Bladet, Denmark: Anders Oveson, mobile manager.
  
  
• Expressen, Sweden: Anna Rastner, managing editor, digital content.
  
  
• Fairfax Media, Australia: Gregory Hywood, CEO.
  
  
• Financial Times, United Kingdom: Rob Grimshaw, managing director.
  
  
• Forbes Media, USA: Lewis D’Vorkin, chief product officer. 
  
  
• Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland: Grzegorz Piechota, news editor.
  
  
• Helsingin Sanomat, Finland: Petteri Putkiranta, commercial director.
  
  
• La Nacion, Costa Rica: Marcela Trejos, marketing manager.
  
  
• Times of India: Shrijeet Mishra, chief operating officer, and Arunabh Das Sharma, executive president.
  
  
• Toronto Star, Canada: Sandy MacLeod, vice president, consumer marketing and strategy.
  
  
• VG, Norway: Espen Egil Hansen, executive editor.
  
  
• Wall Street Journal, USA: Rahul Chopra, vice president of video.

In addition to strategic presentations and case studies, the INMA World Congress includes two “boot camps” designed to delve more deeply into important subjects for which many executives need greater knowledge:       

• Digital Fluency Boot Camp: Kirk MacDonald of Digital First Media will lead an in-depth look at the value propositions behind local advertising networks and why digital platforms like search, mobile, social, e-mail, and video are so vital to digital growth.
  
  
• Second-Wave Mobile Revenue Boot Camp: Mark Challinor of Telegraph Media Group will explore what comes next with mobile such as contextual advertising, new advertising forms, Augmented Reality, location-based advertising, m-commerce, and more.

Punctuated with the presentation of INMA Awards 2013, honouring the best news media marketing campaigns from the past year, along with a trade show, networking fair, Tweet-ups, and much more, the INMA World Congress is a powerful and creative learning, networking, and benchmarking experience.

Complete information on the INMA World Congress may be found at www.inma.org/worldcongress.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .