The 62nd World Newspaper Congress and 16th World Editors Forum in Hyderbad, India will no longer take place as intended on March 22-25, it was announced today.
"It never happened since 1994, date of the creation of the World Editors Forum, but I regret to inform you that WAN and WEF have been obliged to postpone [the event] until later in the year," Bertrand Pecquerie, director of the World Editors Forum, said in an email to speakers.
"The economic crisis has had a devastating effect on participation in the events, which are simply not viable at this stage," he said.
"Our belief is that newspaper companies will, by necessity, learn to live with the crisis over the year and will be more willing to invest again in conferences and travel by the end of 2009."
Pecquerie apologised for the 'inconvenience' that the postponement might cause, particularly in regards to flights and hotel bookings.
It had been hoped the event would attract over 2,000 newspaper publishers.
The new dates have not been confirmed but WEF hopes it will take place in the period November 30-December 4 2009.
Last year's conference held in Gothenburg, Sweden, was widely attended by international representatives in the newspaper industry.
Free daily newsletter
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
