FEATURE INTERVIEW
Print VS Digital

What are the challenges and benefits of being in the Chinese market? In this Q&A session with the audience, the panel talks about being publishers in China, the difference in how a Chinese audience approaches English-language publications online and offline, and the environmental impact of digital publishing- is it really “greener” than traditional publishing? Watch the conclusion of Print vs. Digital to find out about this, and more.

Panel Moderator
Kerry Kennedy
Founder/CEO, iTV-Asia
Kerry Kennedy has more than 20-years of marketing/media experience in Asia Pacific - including print media, database/direct marketing, internet website development and internet webcasting. He was president of Direct Marketing Services Japan, one of Japan's first direct marketing agencies and conducted direct marketing for many leading companies including American Express, General Motors, Newsweek, Time Magazine and Northwest Airlines. Since doing his first webcasting in 1999 he has been one of Asia's leading pioneers in the development of streaming media/webcasting through his websites, ITV-Asia and ITV-Japan. ITV-Asia is the largest Asia-focused business/video website and contains more than 400 interviews on the subject of doing business in Japan and China. Beginning in 2010 the site will start adding content on Southeast Asia and will provide its video content to websites in China, Hong Kong and Japan. Kerry is from Hawaii and first visited Asia as a high-school student and then studied at the University of Hawaii, Sophia University (Tokyo) and National Taiwan University and the Japan-America Institute of Management Science. He currently resides in Shanghai, China.
Panelists
Geoff De Freitas
CEO & Owner, Middle Kingdom Media Ltd.
Geoff has lived in Shanghai for the past five years where he is CEO and owner of Middle Kingdom Media Ltd, the publisher of Shanghai Business Review magazine, an English language business magazine for senior management of foreign companies in Shanghai. Prior to coming to Shanghai, Geoff was based in Manchester and London, in the United Kingdom, where he was General Manager – Europe, for Newsco Publications, which published the Business Insider magazines and a range of corporate finance publications. He was with the company for three years, and was part of the management team that saw the company acquired by Regional Independent Media, one of the UK’s largest Newspaper and magazine publishers. Before returning to the United Kingdom, he was working in Hong Kong for five years where he set up and ran the magazine Finance Asia, which he later sold to Thomson Financial Services where he worked for two years as General Manager – Asia Pacific, of TFS Asia Publishing running the development of a regional financial publishing business. Geoff started his career in business publishing at Hemscot plc, at that time a private company where he was Managing Editor, Business and Finance, where he worked on such titles as The Treasurer, The London Business School Alumni magazine and Treasury Management International.Geoff sees Shanghai as one of the most interesting cities in China. When he first moved to China he was looking for openings in publishing and believes that Shanghai held the best business opportunities at that time.
Panelists
Pete Sweeney
Editor,China Economic Review
Pete Sweeney is the editor of China Economic Review, a Hong Kong-based monthly magazine focused on providing news and analysis on the mainland economy. He also served as Online Managing Editor driving technology projects, including the development of China Economic Review's new website, iPad app, and extended social media strategy. As a reporter, he covered the technology, media & telecom beat, with special attention paid to the digital publishing sector. Sweeney came to China as a Fulbright scholar in 2008, and conducted research on Chinese business policy in Hangzhou, Harbin and Chengdu. He has also lived and worked in Belgium, Ecuador and the US. He is currently writing a thesis on Chinese outbound investment to complete a master's degree in China Studies at the University of Washington.
Panelists
David Basmajian
Since November 2008 David has been Communications and Publications Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. David is responsible for managing the corporate communications and public affairs activities of the Chamber including: media relations management, issues management, production of corporate publications, oversight of editorial and management of the AmCham website. Publications include the Chamber's monthly magazine Insight, the annual China Business Report and AmCham Shanghai's Viewpoint series. Prior to AmCham Shanghai, David worked in California politics at a Bay Area public affairs firm and also worked in the technology industry in various sales and marketing functions.