World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers

Last updated

World Association of Newspapers
AbbreviationWAN-IFRA
FormationJune 1948;76 years ago (1948-06)
Type INGO
Headquarters Frankfurt, Germany
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
English, French, German
Website www.wan-ifra.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization made up of 76 national newspaper associations, 12 news agencies, 10 regional press organisations, and many individual newspaper executives in 100 countries. [1] The association was founded in 1948, and, as of 2011, represented more than 18,000 publications globally. [2]

Contents

WAN's objectives are to defend and to promote freedom of the press, [3] to support the development of newspaper publishing, and to foster global co-operation. [4] It has provided consultation for UNESCO, the United Nations, and the Council of Europe. [5] [6]

According to WAN, from 2007 to 2011, global newspaper advertising dropped 41% to $76 billion. [7]

History

The earliest organization that has since become WAN-IFRA was the FIEJ (Federation Internationale des Editeurs de Journaux et Publications, English: International Federation of Newspaper Publishers), [8] the international federation of newspaper editors founded in 1948 by survivors of the clandestine press of France and the Netherlands to fight for survival of a free press worldwide.

IFRA's origins emerged from INCA (International Newspaper Colour Association), founded in 1961 when European publishers began to introduce the use of colour in newspapers; it was the world's leading association for newspaper and media publishing. In 1970, it became IFRA (the INCA FIEJ Research Association) to treat the rapidly developing technical side of the publishing industry.

In 2007, the organization founded MINDS, Media Information Network (originally Mobile Information and News Data Services for 3G), a nonprofit organization that hosts an annual conference for news organizations and agencies. [9]

In July 2009, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) merged with IFRA, the research and service organisation for the news publishing industry, to become the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). The two organisations had been discussing a merger, on and off, for more than five years, and had built up several similar products and services and had an increasing overlap in membership. [10]

In June 2024, DistriPress, a global trade association founded in 1955 to promote circulation and distribution of newspapers and magazines, was formerly merged into WAN-IFRA. [11]

Identity and mission

WAN-IFRA is a trade association with a human rights mandate. [12] Its first objective is the defence and promotion of press freedom and the economic independence of newspapers. It is also an industry think tank for new strategies, business models, and operational improvements. [10]

Headquarters

WAN-IFRA carries out its work from headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, and in Paris, France, with subsidiaries in Singapore, India, and Mexico. [6]

World Editors Forum

The World Editors Forum (WEF) is the organisation for editors within the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.

Golden Pen of Freedom Award

WAN administers the annual Golden Pen of Freedom Award to recognize a journalist or media organisation that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and promotion of freedom of the press. [13]

Monitoring journalists killed

Since 1998, WAN has maintained annual tallies of media employees killed around the world. The worst year on record is 2006, when 110 media employees died in the line of duty. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

The New Straits Times is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print, having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based The Straits Times on 15 July 1845. It was renamed as the New Straits Times on 13 August 1974.

<i>The Economic Times</i> Indian financial newspaper

The Economic Times is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. The Economic Times began publication in 1961. As of 2023, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language business newspaper, after The Wall Street Journal, with a readership of over 900,000. It is published simultaneously from 14 cities: Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Pune, Indore, and Bhopal. Its main content is based on the Indian economy, international finance, share prices, prices of commodities as well as other matters related to finance. This newspaper is published by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. The founding editor of the paper when it was launched in 1961 was P. S. Hariharan. The current editor of The Economic Times is Bodhisattva Ganguli.

Fréttablaðið was a free Icelandic newspaper. It was distributed five days per week. At its peak, it was the most read newspaper in Iceland.

IFRA may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass media in Eritrea</span> Mass media in Eritrea

There are no current independent mass media in Eritrea. All media outlets in Eritrea are from the Ministry of Information, a government source.

The Reykjavík Grapevine is an English language Icelandic magazine and online newspaper based in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík. Its target audience primarily consists of foreigners, immigrants, international students, young Icelanders, and tourists. The magazine is currently a year-round publication, fortnightly from May to October, and monthly from November to April.

Gaysweek was an American weekly gay and lesbian newspaper based in New York City printed from 1977 until 1979. Considered the city's first mainstream weekly lesbian and gay newspaper, it was founded by Alan Bell in 1977 as an 8-page single-color tabloid and finished its run in 1979 as a 24-page two-color publication. It featured articles, letter, art and poetry. It was, at the time, only one of three weekly publications geared towards gay people. It was also the first mainstream gay publication published by an African-American.

Gaza Weekly Newspaper is a weekly newspaper established in 1950, and published from the city of Gaza. The first issue was on 6 July 1951. The newspaper is printed in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City. It is distributed in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The Declaration of Table Mountain is a statement on press freedom in Africa. The statement was issued by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and World Editors Forum (WEF) at the 60th meeting of the World Newspaper Conference and 14th World Editors Forum Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, 3–6 June 2007. It is named after Table Mountain, at the southern tip of the African continent.

<i>The Week</i> (Indian magazine) Indian news magazine

The Week is an Indian news magazine founded in the year 1982 and published by The Malayala Manorama Co. Pvt. Ltd. The magazine is published from Kochi and is currently printed in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kottayam. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it is the largest circulated English news magazine in India.

Gavin Karl O'Reilly is a Dublin-born businessman with Irish and Australian citizenship. He is the son of Sir Tony O'Reilly and Susan Cameron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gao Yu (journalist)</span> Chinese journalist and dissident (born 1944)

Gao Yu is a Chinese journalist and dissident who has been repeatedly imprisoned.

Julie Posetti is an Australian journalist and academic.

Omar Belhouchet is an Algerian journalist who is renowned for his investigative reporting and supporting freedom of the press; his work and persistence have received international recognition. During the civil war of the 1990s, which put enormous pressure on the free press from both sides, Belhouchet was prosecuted numerous times by his government and survived two assassination attempts.

Al Yaum is a Dammam-based, supposedly pro-government Arabic daily newspaper published in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The paper has been in circulation since 1965.

Delovoy Peterburg is a daily business newspaper published in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The paper has been in circulation since 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi</span> Saudi writer and journalist

Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi is a Saudi writer, journalist and media expert based in Saudi Arabia. Al-Harthi has been the CEO of the Saudi Broadcasting Authority since August 2020, and the President of the Arab States Broadcasting Union since December 2021. His experience extends to more than 20 years in the fields of traditional and new media. Al-Harthi is also the President of the Saudi Media Forum since 2019, and the President of the Saudi Media Award. Additionally, he is a board member of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), and a member of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Journalists Association. He is the editor-in-chief of a group of magazines and websites such as Arrajol, Sayidaty and AboutHer, owned by the Saudi Research and Marketing Group.

Scroll.in, simply referred to as Scroll, is an Indian digital news publication. Founded in 2014, it is owned by SCSN Pvt Ltd. The website is divided into English and Hindi language editions, each managed by separate editorial teams.

Viðskiptablaðið is an Icelandic newspaper focusing on business, economy, and national affairs.

References

  1. Merskin, Debra L. (12 November 2019). The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society. SAGE Publications. ISBN   978-1-4833-7552-6.
  2. "Partners". News Media Alliance . Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  3. "The Washington Post Press Freedom Partnership expands to include WAN-IFRA as partner, Aspen Institute as supporting partner". Washington Post. 4 January 2021. ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021.
  4. "World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)". Devex .
  5. "UNESCO and the World Association of News Publishers join forces to ensure survival of world's media". UNESCO. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Inquirer president appointed to WAN-Ifra executive board". Philippine Daily Inquirer . 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020.
  7. "Taxing times". The Economist.
  8. "FIEJ" via The Free Dictionary.
  9. "India's premier wire service joins global network of news agencies". La Presna Latina. EFE. 28 April 2023. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  10. 1 2 "About". Wan-Ifra. Archived from the original on 11 February 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  11. "WAN-IFRA and DistriPress announce strategic merger to strengthen the industry leadership". Editor & Publisher . 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  12. Merskin, Debra L. (12 November 2019). The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society. University of Oregon: SAGE Publications. p. 1912. ISBN   978-1-4833-7552-6.
  13. Wan-Ifra. "Press Freedom". Wan-Ifra. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  14. Wan-Ifra. "Journalists Killed". Wan-Ifra. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.