Gerd Leonhard, the man the ‘Wall Street Journal’ calls “one of the leading media futurists in the world,” has joined the programme of the upcoming WAN-Ifra International Newsroom Summit, and will provide his insights during a keynote presentation.

The proliferation of digital content has reached a point where content providers are no longer in control… users are, says Leonhard.

“It’s a scary time for many companies, for all industries, but all this data is the new oil of today,” he says. “And whoever figures out how to mine that data, pull it out, refine it – that’s trillions of dollars of new business.”

Hundreds of chief editors, publishers and other newspaper professionals from around the world are expected to attend the Summit, to be held from June 9-10 in Zurich. Tapping into new content businesses will be a strong theme of the event, which is organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

Full details of the program can be found at: http://www.wan-ifra.org/node/31877

The summit will take into account everything from paid-content models to the potential impact of new platforms, including tablets, to newsroom integration. John Paton, chief executive of Journal Register Co. in the USA, will deliver the other keynote, sharing the company’s ‘Digital First’ strategy.

Conference highlights include:

- Business models for newsrooms: Since News International put ‘The Times’ and the ‘Sunday Times’ (UK) behind a paywall last July, most of the news industry has closely followed this development. Will Lewis, News International group general manager, will share the company’s latest figures and its paid-content strategy for the future.

- Innovative journalism: Alan McLean, assistant editor for interactive news at the ‘New York Times’, compares his role to that of a ‘Swiss Army Knife’, where he acts as the bridge between data, programming, infographics and the newsroom. The key, he will explain, is how to use all of these elements to tell compelling stories.

- Tablet publishing: The ‘Frankfurter Rundschau’ was one of the first daily newspapers in Germany to launch a native application for the iPad. Rouven Schellenberger, editor-in-chief, will talk about the right content for this new platform and where it fits in today’s multimedia newsroom.

- Audience engagement and forging relationships: The UK’s ‘East Anglian Daily Times’, part of the Archant Group, has reached out to its market in a big way. Heading that effort is Katherine Silver, head of marketing development at Archant, who will explain how this regional daily newspaper has succeeded in engaging its readers with its brand. Other speakers include: 

Jonathan Cooper, vice president content, Journal Register Company, USA, Ralph Grosse-Bley, editor-in-chief, Ringier, Switzerland, Neil Thackray, co-founder, Briefing Media, UK, Espen Egil Hansen, editor-in-chief, VG Digital News & Media, Norway, Erling Tind Larsen, digital manager, Berlingske Media, Denmark, Wolfgang Büchner, editor-in-chief, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa), Germany, and Justin Williams, assistant editor, Telegraph Media Group, UK.

Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English and German, with additional languages available if more than ten participants request it.