More than 1,000 publishers, chief editors, and senior news executives in the media industry from 80 countries participated in the 12th World Editors Forum (WEF), the only annual global event focusing on editorial issues and strategies, which was held in Seoul from May 29 to June 1.
WEF took special interest in intellectual property (IP), with Samsung Electronic President and CEO Hwang Chang Gyu speaking about the importance of protecting intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the world.
“Intellectual property is a major global issue and countries should do whatever they can to spread awareness and stop piracy,” he said.
Speaking at the World Association of Newspapers’ (WAN) Annual Digital Media Roundtable under the title “Any Time, Any Place: News in the Ultimate Information Society,” Hwang said that the company will not hesitate in doing anything to protect its brand.
Hwang pointed out in his keynote speech that new technologies would be an asset to the media since they will enable the audiences to access news and information at any time and any place.
Meanwhile, several case studies were presented at WEF, such as JoongAng Ilbo which was founded in 1965 and which launched the first newspaper on the Internet in Asia.
The Director of the Norwegian based Online Editorial, Torry Pedersen gave examples on how their readers became contributors. “It was an excellent idea to have reporters who are originally our readers to send us different images and news of certain events on the spot through one of the new technologies,” he said.
“The new technology is taking journalism into another level and we have to be there,” Pedersen concluded.
Moreover, participants discussed the future prospects of the newspaper industry and concerns about press freedom at the meeting, which also combined the 58th World Newspaper Congress and Info Service Expo 2005 organized by the Korean Association of Newspapers.
Mr. Roufan Nahhas, ag-IP-news Agency Managing Chief Editor, who participated in the event said, "The event focused on editorial issues and strategies. It provided a unique panorama of developments in the press worldwide."
Mr. Nahhas held several meetings with other media players and gave a briefing on the work of the agency and its future plans. In addition, several meetings were held with a number of journalists worldwide who benefit from the agency’s services.
Journalists from the London-based Asharq Al Awsat Newspaper will be visiting the Agency’s headquarters soon to discuss ways of cooperation.