Internet good for newspaper industry - impreMedia CEO

John Paton, chairman and chief executive officer of impreMedia, a Hispanic news and information company in the US, believes digital news distribution "is the single best thing that has happened to our business in the last quarter century."

"Even in this disastrous economy, we are now projecting for every one of our divisions a higher profit for
2009 over last year," says Paton. "Some will have their highest profits ever. We fully expect 25% of our profits to be non-print by 2011 and half by the following year."

Paton will explain how impreMedia is achieving such impressive results at the World Newspaper Congress, the global summit meeting of the world's press, to be held in Hyderabad, India from 1 - 3 December 2009.

"I hope what we are doing here at impreMedia is instructive for others," he says. "I truly believe we have crafted a process that grows our brands, embraces platform change, protects and enhances journalism and services our communities."

ImpreMedia had only nine products on two platforms three years ago; today it has 97 products on seven platforms - web, mobile, TV/video, social media, widgets, audio and print.

"And, I might add, we do all that with 40% fewer people, which is the other strength of digital innovation which lets all companies - those that choose to invest in the technology and the right people - do much more, much more cost effectively," says Paton.

For full details of the 62nd World Newspaper Congress, 16th World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2009, the global meetings of the world's press organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), go to http://www.wanindia2009.com.

Paton's strategy for digital innovation at lower cost is built around three key beliefs:

Content creation takes a 'brands first and digital first' approach.
A business model built around news content creation and consumption patterns - breaking news to mobile first, then to the web, then social media, with all content enhanced by audio, video and photos. Repetition and updates continue throughout the day, adding value for the customer. Then print, acknowledging what has already been said, shown and heard.
All content delivered not only to impreMedia's own platforms, but to others as well. "We have declared that our company must let the outside in and we must go where the audience is," says Paton.

In addition to being chairman and CEO, Paton is a member of the board of impreMedia, whose titles include the portal www.impre.com and its McClatchy partners, and the leading Hispanic publications in 16 markets, including La Opinión in Los Angeles and El Diario La Prensa in New York.

The US Hispanic population is the fastest growing demographic in the country, accounting for more than 15% of the population and totaling 47 million people. It is expected that nearly 50% of all US population growth in the next 15 years will come from the Hispanic demographic alone. US Hispanics make up the third largest Spanish-speaking population in the world after Spain and Mexico.

Paton, who is Canadian, arrived in the United States in 2003 and has quickly built a reputation as a leading media executive. He has been named a 'Media All-Star' by AdWeek magazine's Marketing y Medios, Hispanic Media Executive of the Year by HispanicAd.com, a finalist in Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year programme, and Publisher of the Year by Editor & Publisher magazine. He is a member of the board of directors of the Journal Register Company, which operates more than 280 print and online products.