Conference To Feature Discussion and Dialogue Among Most Prominent Leaders In Global Online Media and Advertising

NEW YORK, NY -- November 14, 2005 -- The U.S.-based Online Publishers Association (OPA), together with OPA Europe, announced today that it will host its first-ever global event -- OPA '06: Forum for the Future, a unique media conference at which thought leaders from around the world will come together to discuss and debate topics of global importance to today's media business. The conference will take place from March 1-3, 2006, at The Landmark London hotel in London.

"The purpose of this conference is to confront the most pressing issues facing the media and advertising industries worldwide by facilitating an active dialogue among some of the best minds in media and marketing from around the world," said Michael Zimbalist, president of the Online Publishers Association in the U.S. "This event is a 'must attend' for anyone interested or involved in shaping the future of global media."

Featured topics to be addressed at the conference include:

• The Business Model for Media Companies: Can the traditional model be sustained in the digital realm?
• Global Outlook for Advertising and Marketing Services: How can media companies better serve advertisers in their quest to build strong brands, locally and globally?
• Scalability and Distribution Considerations: How can content companies scale their businesses in a world of consumer choice and control?
• Mobility and the Consumer: How does mobility change the way consumers use content and what effect will that have on publishers' business models and marketers' programs?
• The Future of Content Creation: What editorial products will consumers demand in the future? How should content companies organize to meet that demand?
• Emerging Models for the 21st Century Media Company: Can media become a platform for new businesses?

Tom Glocer, Chief Executive of Reuters Group PLC; and Ken Lowe, CEO of E.W. Scripps Company will deliver keynotes at the event. Additional keynote speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Other confirmed participants include Rafat Ali, Editor and Publisher, paidContent.org; John Battelle, Author, Journalist, Entrepreneur; Shekhar Bhatia, Editor, Hindustan Times; Neil Budde, General Manager, Yahoo! News; Jeffrey Cole, Director, Center for the Digital Future, University of Southern California (USC); Gordon Crovitz, President, Dow Jones Electronic Publishing; Esther Dyson, Editor, Release 1.0, CNET Networks; Sahar Elhabashi, EVP of Strategy and Digital Media, MTV Networks International; Lluis Foix, Editor, La Vanguardia On-line; Rich Karlgaard, Publisher, Forbes; Larry Kramer, President, CBS Digital Media; Mike Oreskes, Executive Editor, International Herald Tribune; Dr. Frank Schirrmacher, Publisher, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Innovation Officer, Publicis Groupe Media; and many others.

Detailed information about the conference -- including registration information and the full conference agenda -- can be found at www.online-publishers.org/globalforum.

About the Online Publishers Association

Founded in June 2001, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) is an industry trade organization whose mission is to advance the interests of high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Members of OPA represent the standards in Internet publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability. OPA member sites have a combined, unduplicated reach of 109.5 million visitors, or 65 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience (Source: comScore Media Metrix, July 2005 combined home/work/university data). For more information about the Online Publishers Association, visit www.online-publishers.org.

In March 2003, several leading European publishers came together to form OPA Europe, an extension of the association to the European community. For more information about OPA Europe, visit www.opa-europe.org.

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