HERSHEY, Pa. (March 23, 2012) — From March 12-14, nearly 900 attendees and exhibitors flocked to Hershey for 2012 America East Operations and Technology Conference, which promised to be an insightful and inspiring event. America East delivered on its promise by supplying attendees with relevant and thought-provoking sessions designed to help their news organizations stay ahead of the digital curve.

What we saw this year:
• 604 total registered attendees
• 263 total exhibiting personnel
• 78 total exhibiting companies
• 28 informative sessions
• 12 group meetings
• 5 user group meetings
• 3 awards presentations  

Given its location in Hershey, Pa., America East continues to be a convenient and centralized conference for much of the nation’s population and the news organizations and media companies therein. Stay tuned – We’ve already begun planning America East 2013, April 8-10.

Read on to learn more about some of this year’s general sessions:

Three keynote speakers kicked off America East with a keynote presentation titled “Innovation Among Legacy and Digital Products.” David E. Carlson of the University of Florida’s Center for Media Innovation + Research, Hearst Newspapers president Mark Aldam, and Steve Yelvington of Morris Publishing Group in Augusta, Ga. discussed the current state of the newspaper industry and ways in which news media organizations can become high-functioning, digitally-efficient organizations.

In Engaging Your Community, Steve Buttry, director of community engagement and social media with Journal Register Company, discussed how news organizations can better promote their online presence by interacting with their community.

The average mobile Web user spends 117 minutes a day on their mobile device. Troy Piekarski, classified digital business manager at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, showcased ways in which newspapers can utilize this mobile technology in his session, Mobile Marketing.

America East attendees were inspired to tap into their inner Mark Zuckerberg during Generating Revenue Through Social Media Outlets. Digital strategist and author Alan Mutter challenged organizations with some familiar and new ideas to incorporate Facebook and its money-making power into their newsrooms and sales floors.

Martin Till, president of PennJersey Advance, discussed the need for a culture change during Culture and the Need for Real Change Within Our Organizations. According to Till, culture change demands strong action in every area of our organizations, from our hiring practices to our employee skill sets and more.

Jason Taylor, president of Chattanooga Times Free Press, inspired many with a talk entitled “60 New Ideas in 60 Minutes.” He urged those in attendance to get their employees excited about what they do and to change the culture of our newspapers to be more sales-oriented.

Cloud computing can help control costs, provide flexibility and reduce local support complexity. John Herbst of Atex, Inc. and Tom Stanley of Versatile Systems, Inc. shared their firsthand experiences with cloud computing during Forecast: Clouds are Here to Stay, and That’s Not a Bad Thing.

Wendy Warren of Philly.com and Steve Buttry of Journal Register Company revealed ways in which newsrooms can cultivate quality content without expending major resources. During User-Generated Content, the pair discussed ways in which news organizations can use technology, their own staff and the community around them.  

The America East Newspaper Operations and Technology Conference is the leading regional trade show for the newspaper industry, organized annually in Hershey by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. For more than 50 years, the show has succeeded as an affordable and accessible avenue for vendors and attendees to reach one another.

The PNA, founded in 1925, is the nonprofit trade association for print and online media in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to advance the interests of Pennsylvania newspapers, promote the importance of a free and independent press and provide a forum for critical and innovative thinking about the future of journalism and the newspaper industry. It has more than 300 newspaper and media members, including daily, weekly, and college newspapers and online publications.

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