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WAN and IFRA up for merger

June 26, 2009 | By the IPP Desk

WAN and IFRA, the international associations for print and digital news publishing, have merged into a new organisation, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). The combined organisation will represent the members of more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3000 companies in more than 120 countries. WAN-IFRA is dedicated “to be the indispensable partner of newspapers and the entire news publishing industry worldwide, particularly our members, in the defense and promotion of press freedom, quality journalism and editorial integrity, and the development of prosperous businesses and technology.”

Newspaper Man in Malaga

The merger, which becomes effective on 1 July, has been approved by the boards and the annual meetings of the two organisations. The new organisation will maintain the two current headquarters in Paris and Darmstadt.

Gavin O’Reilly, the President of WAN and Group CEO of Dublin-based Independent News and Media, will serve as President of the new organisation through 2010. “Both IFRA and WAN are strong organisations providing key services to our industry,” he said. “We believe that combining their strengths will allow us to be even more resourceful and effective in responding to the growing needs of our members and industry partners in the fast-moving and evolving media matrix. This is a necessary merger which, indeed, has been on the cards for some time”.

Horst Pirker, President of IFRA and CEO of Styria Medien AG in Austria, will serve as First Vice President, and become President in 2011. "Like the whole news publishing industry, WAN and IFRA are currently facing serious challenges. I think we need to concentrate our resources to support our members in the best possible way”, he said.

The new organisation will appoint a Chief Executive Officer shortly. In the meantime, the current CEOs of WAN and IFRA, Timothy Balding and Reiner Mittelbach, will jointly manage the association.

WAN-IFRA has already published its new Mission Statement, which runs as follows:
“As the world-wide service and representative organization of newspapers and the entire news publishing industry, WAN-IFRA is dedicated to support this industry as well as its technology and service providers.

- To defend and promote press freedom and the economic independence which is an essential condition for that freedom.

- To defend and promote press freedom and the economic independence which is an essential condition for that freedom.

- To improve editorial quality and promote ethical journalism.

- To provide expertise and research in publishing strategy, editorial, advertising, marketing, technology, production and distribution issues to the industry.

- To provide a world-wide center for industry research and implementation and a platform for the exchange of ideas, information and experience between all parties of the news publishing industry.

- To foster international co-operation to encourage the culture of reading newspapers through the establishment and development of Young Reader and Newspapers in Education programmes.

- To provide opportunities for senior news executives to exchange ideas and information about editing newspapers.

- To represent the newspaper and news publishing industry in all international discussions on media issues.”