WAN and IFRA to merge July 1

The World Association of Newspapers in Paris, France, and IFRA in Darmstadt, Germany, two leading international organizations for print and digital news publishing will merge to create the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) on July 1. The two organizations had been informally discussing a merger for more than five years as they had noticed a growing overlap in membership for the products and services both offered.

In a statement made yesterday, the two associations said that together they would represent over 18,000 publications, 15,000 web sites, and more than 3,000 companies across the globe. WAN-IFRA intends “to be the indispensable partner of newspapers and the entire news publishing industry worldwide, particularly our members, in the defense and promotion of press freedom, quality journalism and editorial integrity, and the development of prosperous businesses and technology.”

The current president of WAN, Gavin O’Reilly will serve as president of the new organization through 2010. Horst Pirker, president of IFRA will serve as first vice president, and become president in 2011.

WAN-IFRA’s mission statement can be found at www.wan-ifra.org.
For more information, visit: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/global-newspaper-bodies-wan-ifra-to-merge/481728/