The success of the regional press will be pulled into focus at a conference and exhibition next month.

The Newspaper Society Newspaper Sales and Promotions Conference & Exhibition 2001 will take place in Blackpool on March 12-13.

The event will also examine how the success can be maintained through easily implemented measures and practical ideas.

Northcliffe Newspapers’ group deputy director of circulation Carolyn Mackinnon-Ure will chair the conference.

She said: “To see a positive future for newspapers is not always a fashionable view.

“Ever since the evolution of television with its effect on culture, many predicted the end of the prevailing mass media and in particular the death of newspapers.

“However, the industry has worked hard to transform itself into a powerful, versatile, cost-effective and advertiser-friendly medium of the 21st century.”

The event is set to attract more than 300 delegates from the regional press including chief executives, circulation directors and managers, editors and marketing and promotions managers.

The conference itself Looking for Clues brings together high-calibre speakers from inside and outside the industry.

Topics will include brand development, regionality, market research, pricing strategies, national distribution, single copy sales, promotions ideas, circulation versus audience measurement and the future development of the regional newspaper industry.

The speakers will include Paul Dobson, professor of retail strategy and industrial organisation at Loughborough University, on the threat of a national distribution system, Chris Boyd, chief executive, ABC, on what the future holds for regional newspapers and Austin Mitchell MP, on the essential role of local newspapers in their communities.