Paton's keynote will begin the discussion for hundreds of senior newspaper executives and chief editors who will gather in Zurich on 9-10 June for the 10th anniversary of the International Newsroom Summit, organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). Full details about the event can be found at http://www.wan-ifra.org/node/31877.
Since Paton's appointment as CEO in early 2010, The Journal Register Co, which publishes 27 dailies and hundreds of non-dailies, has frequently been hailed as an example of how to innovate dramatically - particularly impressive given the company's past financial difficulties, which led to a brief bankruptcy and re-emergence in 2009.
"The most important and most opportunistic time is now for newspapers to make that transition from what we were to what we are going to be," says Paton.
The summit's scope takes into account everything from paid-content models to the potential impact of new platforms (such as tablets) to newsroom integration.
Conference highlights include:
Other speakers include, but are not limited to: Robert Picard, director of research, Reuters Institute, University of Oxford, UK; Wolfgang Büchner, editor-in-chief, Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (dpa), Germany; Justin Williams, assistant editor, Telegraph Media Group, UK; Alan McLean, assistant editor, Interactive News, New York Times, USA; Katherine Silver, head of Marketing Development, Archant, UK; Dr. Aralynn McMane, executive director for Young Readership Development, WAN-IFRA, France; and Sarah Schantin Williams, senior associate consultant, WAN-IFRA, Germany.
For the evolving conference programme, registration and other information, go to http://www.wan-ifra.org/node/31877.