How Reader Feels Comfortable?

Istanbul experienced massive inflation over the past week; a massive inflation of journalists that is, as over a thousand journalists from all over the world converged on the Lutfi Kirdar Congress and Exhibition Hall to participate in the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) conference and the World Editors Forum (WEF).

All sorts of diverse topics concerning the journalism profession were discussed during the 4-day conference. Some sessions were devoted to topics such as the basic values of journalism while others dealt with advertising and circulation.

Even photojournalism and layout were hit upon during the conference. While the editors pondered about content and publishing policies, the publishers discussed how to make more money and increase the profit margin.

The subject that all speakers agreed upon was that a bright future lies ahead for the written press.

The organization, which was hosted by Milliyet newspaper, went out of its way to make foreign guests happy. On the other hand, reporters following the meeting experienced a significant setback. At the organization of the Turkey's largest press group, neither a press release nor a program was given to members of the press.

On the first day of the conference, Director General of WAN Timothy Balding talked about how the written press would be affected by the Internet and rapidly developing electronic media. He put many people at ease when he disclosed that electronic media was encroaching upon the market share of television, not the written press.

One of the most interesting speakers during the conference was Karen House, the Global Publisher of The Wall Street Journal. House summarized the success of 100-year-old newspaper's circulation, which has surpassed three million readers, in three words: "Quality, Honesty, and Freedom."

The Tabloid Press was a hot topic during the WEF meetings. One of the most impressive stories to come out of those meetings was the success of Brazil's tabloid newspaper Zero Hero, which has a circulation of 1.6-million.

The most attractive side of this story is that the newspaper established a dialogue between itself and its readers. The duty of the 75 specially trained personnel of Zero Hero, which is sold through subscription, was only to respond to the readers' calls and persuade readers not to cancel their subscriptions. The words of the Chief Editor, Marcelo Rech, pretty much summed up the meetings: "If the editor works hard, the reader feels comfortable." (ZO/YE)