Publish Asia 2007

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The Philippines is currently hosting the gathering of publishers from all over Asia that started yesterday at the Manila Hotel. The meet is bringing into the country about 400 officers of publications across the region who include publishers, editors, managers, investment officers and other members of the industry. The visiting participants will be joined by some 300 from the country who will exchange ideas and strategies to help them meet the challenges, perhaps the word is "threats", from other media these days. We wish them all the inspiration and luck they will need to attain the purposes they have set out for the activity.

The theme of the meeting is very significant: "Reinventing for Today's Business, Creating for Tomorrow's Challenges". Towards its realization, the participants will take up investment models and integration strategies that can be implemented in their newspapers. They will also discuss methods of product diversification in order to make their output competitive with other media. In this, all the publishers gathered in Manila, be they among the most prestigious and most financially successful, or the struggling entities of which we have too many in our country, share a common challenge - that of keeping up with the inroads of broadcast media and the increasingly popular one of television which, coupled with the accessibility and convenience of the website, are admittedly drawing a lot of newspaper readers away from the newsstands and from the traditional subscription delivery system.

This is the 16th year of meetings of the publishers group called "Publish Asia 2007" and we are fortunate to have it in our country this year. Perhaps, from the delegates, we will also learn some lessons, or gain support in solving the more unique problems that are today facing Philippine media in particular.*