I see many similar topics on your program-Publishing Beyond Print，Media Convergence，Online Publishing，and Organizing Community to name a few.I thought by giving you some of the highlights of our conference program，you will get a sense of how we are facing addressing these issues.
Topic 1：Are We a Brand or a Magazine？
This might be the most important question magazine publishers need to be asking these days.We think it's so critical that on the opening morning of the conference，Rick Smith，Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Newsweek moderated a conversation about this topic with Ann Moore，Chairman and CEO of Time Inc.，and Steve Murphy，President and CEO of Rodale.It was called“Just What Business Are We In？”
How would you answer the questions？Would you say we are in the magazine business，the content business，the brand business or the business of community？
These U.S.executives answered that we are in all those businesses-magazine，content，brand and community-but the brand is in the center.In other words，we are in the brand business，brands that are presently anchored in our print publications and now encompass every available medium and format：Web sites，video，live events，wireless，podcasts，RSS feeds and licensed products.All three of these CEOs are transforming their companies by centralizing their editorial staffs and making their editors-in-chief the stewards of their brands.They are also reorganizing their sales staff to address the shifts taking place in the advertising business.
Everywhere we see a proliferation of media and content channels.Advertisers，at least in the U.S.，won't give much credence to a proposal that doesn't follow their customers across the various content platforms.An executive from ESPN(the sports franchise)spoke at a MPA breakfast recently and said he was in the sports fan business and would follow them wherever they go.Consumers follow their passions and advertisers follow the consumers.To be sure ESPN，like Newsweek，Rodale and Time Inc.faces the usual business，organizational，and cultural issues that come with change.Each will admit that it is hard，but they are pressing forward to strengthen their relationship with the readers and to“reach out and touch”the reader wherever they are-in print or on a screen through elegant photography or moving pictures，even in the case of ESPN，on a T-shirt.