FPS 2008: Day One Wrap-Up

Highlights from the ‘elite retreat.’

By Joanna Pettas
02/21/2008

MIAMI—The FOLIO: Publishing Summit—redesigned as an “elite retreat” for top-level magazine management—kicked off today at the Doral Resort in Miami, Florida with a keynote presentation from Jack Griffin, president of Meredith Publishing Group. Griffin, on crutches and hobbled by a recent surgery, talked about navigating through a world of “discontinuous change” and steering Meredith from being “a shelter magazine company to…a leading content platform for women in the U.S.”

Following the presentation, the more than 300 attendees—magazine publishers spanning the industry, hailing from locations all over the country—broke into eight working groups formed around categories including editorial and content management, finance and operations, executive management, and city and regional publishing, among others. Sessions were organized as roundtable conversations led by moderators focused on specific topics and targeting the issues of most concern to each group.

Hanley Wood CEO Frank Anton gave a luncheon keynote, sharing his list of “10 Deadly Sins” to avoid in b-to-b publishing.

The working groups continued into the afternoon, and ended in the evening with FOLIO:’s “Dinner with a Stranger” event.

The Summit will conclude tomorrow following a keynote presentation from Terry Snow, CEO of Bonnier Corporation, and additional working group sessions.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Visit the FPS page for an inside look into the keynote and working group discussions.]