By: David Hirschman Some of the most innovative thinkers in online news and digital media gathered on May 18 and 19 for the annual Interactive Media Conference & Trade Show in Las Vegas, co-sponsored by E&P and Mediaweek.
More than three dozen speakers and panelists addressed a wide range of pressing issues affecting media companies, many of which are struggling to adapt their traditional business models to new technologies and the digital economy. Faced with stagnant growth, many of those in attendance were searching for ways to transfer their content online while still remaining profitable and serving their communities with a print product (see coverage at E&P Online, May 18-20).
In his keynote speech, Neil Ashe, executive vice president of strategy and development at CNET Networks Inc., stressed that media companies needed to start thinking of all content ? audio, video, text, and photographs ? as different parts of an integrated product, breaking down the barriers that have existed between various forms of media. "It's the content that matters to users, not the way that we distribute it to them," Ashe said. "Quality content is what's important. The more we invest in quality content, the longer our relationship with the user will be." Other keynoters were Charles Tillinghast, president and publisher of MSNBC.com, and Scott Anthony, a managing director at Innosight.
Speakers focused on print/Web convergence ? once a battleground, now brimming with innovation at both The Washington Post and USA Today ? as well as the interplay of advertising and media on the web. Panels included a discussion of how youths consume media (featuring two frank-talking local college students), and some predictions for how online media will evolve in the near future. "We need to think about partnerships," urged Jim Kennedy, head of strategic planning for the Associated Press. "You can't fight the system of distribution. It's not about creating a Google deal; it's about optimizing the power that is out there ? the grid that people are going to be plugged into."
The conference culminated with the presentation of the 2006 EPpy awards (see page 13).
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