Future of print is not doomed - FIPP conference

Over two days (13 - 14 November 2006), delegates from the Latin American region, US and Europe engaged in critical reflection on the current state of the magazine industry. Entitled "New challenges, new ideas", the programme featured more than 40 speakers involved in lively panel discussions about how to embrace and monetise the opportunities emerging from a new era of media consumption.

Roberto Civita, chairman and CEO of Brazil's Abril Group, summarised the challenges succinctly in his opening keynote speech: "There is growing competition for time and attention where one loses both the readers and the advertising; exposure is difficult on crowded newsstands; distribution, print and paper costs grow, forcing us to raise our prices; wireless and digital communications grow, making information available at any place and at any moment; and with user-generated content, the frontier that separated content producer from content consumer has been diffused."

"But the soul of our business is intangible and is based on trust," he said, making a statement that would be echoed many times over the next two days. "The future of print is not doomed. One medium has never replaced another. We must do with more passion and more quality what we have always done. We must continue to serve and to surprise."

On the perceived threat of digital platforms, Civita was optimistic: "Just as we learnt about printing technology, we must learn a new language - RSS, streaming, metatag, flash, htm, etc. The Internet will become a lever for the growth of our industry because it gives us the opportunity to make the links to our readers more solid and much richer. We can now reach whole new audiences who do not buy magazines but do identify with the values, insight and soul of our brands."

The full Ibero-Latin-American conference report will appear in Magazine World Update, available today, Friday, 17 November, at www.fipp.com.