exactly as received**
To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: World Association of Newspapers (WAN), lkilman@wan.asso.fr
Sent: Monday, June 18, 2007 6:52 AM
WAN/Russia Publishing Expo
The following is a welcome message by Timothy Balding, CEO of the World
Association of Newspapers, for the catalogue of Publishing Expo 2007, the
annual expo & conference of the Russian publishing industry, which opened
today in Moscow.
The event in the life of the Russian press that has marked me, and the rest
of the international publishing community, in the past year has been
without any doubt the savage murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Anna who? In the past ten years that I have been a regular visitor to
Russia, a country that I love greatly, this has been the inevitable
question from publishers and editors when I have asked them what they
thought of Anna and her sulfurous reputation as a passionaria of free and
independent journalism in your country, a woman ready to break every taboo
and to write fearlessly about, above all, the misconduct and brutality of
the war in Chechnya.
Anna who? This is no longer a question for anybody in the streets of Paris,
New York or Tokyo - and I hope that I can today say the same about Moscow
or Saint Petersburg, though I'm not sure. But it took her death to make
her a celebrity, where even today there probably isn't a single other
Russian journalist, editor, publisher or media owner whose name means the
slightest thing outside the borders of your country.
Why do I bring up Ms Politkovskaya's tragic murder in the catalogue of a
publishing exhibition and conference that will deal with technology,
advertising, circulation, marketing, distribution and other facets of the
day-to-day operations of a press company?
I'll tell you why. Because the finality of all your efforts to develop a
profitable, commercially-viable newspaper industry in Russia, prospering
from the lifeblood of advertising and selling to the highest possible
number of Russian citizens, is to free your journalists to investigate and
report on all aspects, even the most sombre, of the life of your country,
in full independence and without fear or favour of the powerful lobbies,
whether in politics or business, who dominate public life in your country.
Without your efforts and talent, this will never be possible.
As you listen and learn here at Publishing Expo 2007 how to do your jobs
better and develop and strengthen your publications and their
profitability, I appeal to you not to lose sight of this objective: the
role of the press is, certainly, to entertain and inform; but it's much
more important that that. The press is a fundamental, vital player in
democracy, empowering the citizen to make the right choices by making sure
that he or she is fully aware of what's going on in your country, in
business and in the circles of power, uncovering abuses in every field of
public life and revealing misdoings in the most honest and free manner
possible.
Whether you work in advertising, in marketing, in distribution or in
business development, you are making a vital contribution towards the
realization of these noble objectives and the continuing development of a
modern democracy in Russia. Good luck to all.
Timothy Balding
Chief Executive Officer
World Association of Newspapers
**The information contained in this autolist item is the sole
responsibility of WAN**
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