Scotland hosts World News Media Congress 2019

Glasgow being a significant center for journalism, this Scottish city is the country’s most important hub for broadcasting, media, digital and the creative industries. Also, the city is home to the headquarters of BBC Scotland, STV and a range of widely read newspapers such as The Herald, The Daily Record, The Scottish Sun and Scottish Daily Mail.

Vincent Peyregne, CEO, WAN-IFRA, said Scotland is a market with a remarkable diversity of national, regional and local media. “We are privileged to be hosted in Glasgow by the SNS and their affiliate members,” he remarked. The congress, incorporating the one-of-a-kind Women in News Summit, and the World Editors Forum, is a milestone in the association’s annual programme of professional events. It is of value to every news professional seeking to better understand and address the unprecedented forces at work at this time.

The congress turned out to be a vital forum for discussions in the sessions of World Editors Forum and Women in News Summit—discoursing on the future of news, press freedom and issues facing society and its citizens. Scottish Newspaper Society director John McLellan and former editor-in-chief of Scotsman Publications mentioned that they are thrilled to be able to stage the 2019 World News Media Congress.

Scotland is steeped in the finest traditions of freedom of expression but also of media innovation— after all, television and telephone were both invented by Scots – and is home to one of the most competitive and vibrant news markets anywhere in the world. The country has been a crucible for the development of publishing and the concepts of freedom of expression from even before the 18th Century Age of Enlightenment. This is the home of Adam Smith, where Encyclopaedia Britannica was founded in 1768 and where three of the daily newspapers, The Herald, The Scotsman and The Courier are over 200 years old.

World Editors Forum (WEF) builds on a commitment to defend press freedom and promote editorial excellence in the region. It is at the forefront of newsroom change and connects editors on issues that matter for the future of independent and free news publishing. On other hand, Women in News (WIN) Summit geared up to support WAN-IFRA’s sector-leading initiative to increase women’s leadership and voices in news through capacity building, training and advocacy.

Winners of World Digital Media Awards

The winners of this year’s World Digital Media Awards once again showed that engaging audiences with great storytelling and content that is insightful and deeply relevant to their lives can go a long way towards building a lasting relationship with them. The winners were awarded during the gala dinner held at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. The winners came from the winners of our 2018 regional Digital Media Awards in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and South Asia, which together provide news publishers with regular showcases for the best-practice innovation in digital publishing worldwide.

The winners!

• Best News Website or Mobile Service (The Guardian, United Kingdom)
• Best in Lifestyle, Sports, Entertainment Website or Mobile Services (arre.co.in – Arré India, India)
• Best Use of Online Video Visual Vocabulary (The New York Times, USA)
• Best Data Visualization: Bussed Out: How America moves its homeless (The Guardian US, USA)
• Best Digital News Start-up (Jota – Jota, Brazil)
• Best Digital Marketing Campaign: Dirty John (Los Angeles Times, USA)
• Best Reader Revenue Initiative: This Land is Your Land (The Guardian US, USA)
• Best Branded Content Project #StandTogether (R.AGE, Malaysia)
• Best in Social Media Engagement: Team in your Heart: Aftonbladet (Schibsted Sverige), Sweden
• Best Innovation to Engage Youth Audiences: Verificado 2018 – AJ+ Español/Animal Político/Pop-Up Newsroom, Mexico