Their challenges are concern are the same as for every other media group globally: transitioning from print to digital, learning to cope with the competition from social media for the audience’s attention, coping with diminishing advertising and declining print circulation ,and, most importantly, creating a culture that favors change and positive disruption in the newsroom.
For the almost 200 participants in the Inter American Press Association (SIP for its Spanish name) annual SIP Connect gathering, the expectation is that the two-day conference will provide them with tips to return to their newspapers and effect change. The goal of the conference is to strengthen the media in the southern hemisphere so that publishers can benefit from obtaining greater gains from digital platforms. To that effect, the third annual SIP Connect conference, includes speakers and experts from Spain, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru. Executives and editors are participating from a majority of the Latin American countries as well from the United States and the English-speaking Caribbean.”
Latin America has one of the youngest populations in the world, and, thus, more people connected and getting their news and information via mobile devices.
Ricardo Trotti, CEO of the Inter American Press Association, is convinced that this conference will be a springboard to innovation for many of the Latin American newspaper publishers/editors/designers in attendance.
“Even though there is a greater awareness than a decade ago about the need to embrace the digital transformation, in the industry a fear still persists and a lack of urgency, with the exception of some cases where media outlets with successful experiences are beginning to inspire change and a new culture. This allows that, in spite of the crisis, there is measured optimism.
“Our industry now understands that transformation is the only possible way to reach sustainability for the media in the future. But the problem is that many are attaching dates to that future, without first attaching the urgency that the topic requires. What we have is a sort of lack of unity between the wish and the reality.”
Trotti believes that there is uncertainty about the future and a resistance to change, and there is also an accelerated evolution of the processes which conspire against this lack of urgency. “The transformation,” he says, is delayed because many trust in their existing gains, even small ones, which still help them, such as the traditional means of advertising, circulation and sales of the printed product.
“There is also the fear of the unknown in terms of technological tools, human and economic resources that are essential to effect those changes…..Suddenly, the old known ecosystems where the competition was familiar are gone, and now they compete with new players, such as Facebook and Google, which compete for audiences that are less loyal and fickle, not to mention that these have absorbed a large portion of the advertising pie, as well as the time of the users.
Trotti remains optimistic, however:
“Having survived the era of recognizing the problem and reacting to the forecasts, now this is the grand era for the opportunities.”
The program
WEDNESDAY, June 21
8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
¡Bienvenidos!
> Matt Sanders, Deseret Digital Media and Ricardo Trotti, Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa (SIP)
9:00 – 9:45 a.m.
Keynote
Storytelling in the digital age.
> Mario García, García Media, New York, New York
9:45 – 10:15 a.m.
Presentation
Digital sources to sell more in print. How the two platforms can feed each other.
> Mike Blinder, Blinder Group, Tampa, Florida
10:15 – 10:30 a.m.
Coffee break
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
Segment 1: Different styles of digital transformation
> Matt Monahan, The Washington Post, Washington D.C.; Sergio Marabolí, director de La Cuarta, Chile; Darío Gallo, editor jefe de Clarín digital, Buenos Aires, Argentina y Roberto De Celis, director de Negocios Digitales, Grupo Vocento, Madrid, España. Moderador: Matt Sanders, Deseret Digital Media.
11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m
Segment II: New successful case study of monetizing strategies.
The return of paywalls.
> Billy Aldea-Martínez, Piano Media, São Paulo, Brasil; Javier Kraviez, gerente de Clarín, Buenos Aires Argentina; Edson Ferrao, Grupo Abril, São Paulo, Brasil. Moderadora: Mindy Marques, The Miami Herald, Miami, Estados Unidos.
1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Lunch
Keynote Speaker: Víctor Kong, president, Cisneros Interactive.
2:40-3:00 p.m.
Presentation
Alexandra Villoch, Vice President Regional, McClatchy Newspapers.
3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Segmento III: Videos are the king of content; we all like them and they also have good pay off.
> Carlos Hullet, VivoPlay/TV Venezuela; Johnattan Bilancieri, Cimacast/NTN 24; Darío López, The Associated Press, Ciudad México; Eduardo Suñol, Vicepresidente Digital News, Telemundo. Moderador: Fernando Berckemeyer, El Comercio, Lima, Perú.
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Segmento IV: The cultivating of audiences: how to make sure that we attract new audiences while retaining the loyal ones.
> Alejandro Couce, Vindicia; Gabriel D’Onofrio, Cxsense, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Katherine Haine, President & CEO, CityMedia, Toronto, Canadá. Moderador: José Curiotto, Diario El Litoral, Santa Fé, Argentina.
5:00 – 5:15 p.m.
Coffee break
5:15 – 6:15 p.m.
Segmento V: Metrics + Social Media = Different type of audiences
> El director de Métrica, Eduardo Aguilar y la Editora de Redes Sociales, Renata Sánchez, El Universal de México. Moderador: Alex Herdoiza, El Comercio, Quito, Ecuador.
6:15 – 6:45 p.m.
Presentation:
Classifieds: one of the best engines of digital transformation
> Rafael Bonnelly
7:00 p.m.
Welcome cocktail.
THURSDAY , June 22
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Presentation
> Luis Renato Olivalve y Cláudia Gurfinkel, Facebook, Media Partners LATAM
10:00- 10:30 a.m.
Presentation: Innovation and imagination in those digital platforms
Mauricio Cabrera, creador del sitio juanfutbol.com
10:30- 10:45 a.m.
Coffee break
10:45- 11:45 m.
Segmento VI: Native Advertising ,Paid Content and Storytelling: three different concepts that go well together
> Eduardo Tessler, consultor Porto Alegre, Brasil; Laura Montoya, especialista en Contenido Patrocinado de la firma Brandforge, Salt Lake City, Utah y Mauricio Cabrera, creador del sitio Juanfutbol.com de México.
11:45 a.m. -12:45 p.m.
Panel
New tools and services
Panelistas: Carlos Martínez, Press Reader, Vancouver, Canadá; Marcos Enriquez, LowPost, Madrid, España; Héctor Botero, ContentEngine, Miami, Florida
12:45- 2:15p.m.
Lunch
The new SIP Digital Kiosk
Keynote Speakers: Fernando Gómez-Carpintero, Protecmedia
Ivo Cadenas, Consultor de Transformación Digital
2:15- 3:15 p.m.
Segment VII : The evolution of the newsroom in 2017
Panelistas: Selymar Colón, directora Noticias Digitales, Univisión, Miami, Estados Unidos; Eduardo Tessler, consultor de Innovation, Porto Alegre, Brasil; Sergio Marabolí, La Cuarta, Santiago, Chile; Stephen Ryan, director de Negocios Globales, Deseret Digital Media, Salt Lake City, USA. Moderador: Néstor Altuve, consultor de medios, Panamá.
3:30-4:00 p.m.
Segment VIII: Monetizing mobile content
> Roberto de Celis, gerente de Negocios Digitales del Grupo Vocento de España; Aura Llanas, Marfeel, Madrid, España; Jacinto Montu, Unicorn Games, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Moderador: Ernesto Kraiselburd, El Día, La Plata, Argentina.
4:00-4:15 p.m.
Coffee break
4:15 – 5:00 p.m.
Segment IX: New trends and concepts in web design.
Panelistas: Iñaki Palacios, Cases i Associats, Miami, Florida; David Sancha, Xalok, Miami, Florida. Moderador: José Ignacio García, LowPost, Miami, Florida
5:00-6:00 p.m.
Presentation
Google initiatives with media firms
>Matías Attwell, director de soluciones de Google para editores de medios en español en América Latina.
8:00 – 11:00 p.m.
A night of art and music
TheLabMiami in Wynwood
During my presentation today
TheMarioBlog post #2654