2008 Programs and Events
“The Free Press Phenomenon” Media Conference by Mosaiko.gr
Mosaiko.gr, the U.S. Embassy’s youth-oriented website, sponsored a conference entitled “The Free Press Phenomenon” for publishers, editors, and journalists of the Greek free press. Former Editor-in-Chief of the Village Voice, Donald Forst, and Publisher and General Manager of AM New York, Terry Jimenez, were the keynote speakers.
The two-day interactive conference was held at the Divani Apollon Palace & Spa in Vouliagmeni from July 25-26, 2008. The speakers led three sessions on the impact of the free press on urban culture, advertising and budget issues, and the free press in the Internet era.
Describing how the Village Voice was able to stay objective, despite commercial pressures, Forst quipped, “We [were] not afraid of anybody…not our readers…not our advertisers. That comes from being successful.”
During his introduction, Jimenez explained how AM New York became the top circulation paper in the city: “we…deliver news and information that is a quick snapshot of what is happening in the city, in the nation, and in the world... the younger generation does not have time or the interest to read several pages in one story.”
Mr. Forst is currently a journalism professor at the State University of New York (SUNY). Under his leadership from 1993-2005, the Village Voice won a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. Mr. Jimenez of AM New York has been in the publishing business since 2003, and before that was Finance Director at the McDonald’s Corporation.