Digital First. Print Last.
  The Gospel According to John Paton

In conversation with Douglas Knight, President of St. Joseph Media

*SOLD OUT: Please join us for the discussion on Twitter at the Forum via #cjfforum and follow the J-Source liveblog of the event at http://srcbliv.me/39172. Look for John Paton's interviews on J-Source and CBC's Q with Jian Ghomeshi on February 23, as well as coverage of the event in Toronto Life and on CPAC.

Meet the Canadian media mogul who just might have the best strategy for saving the newspaper industry. The CEO of New York based Digital First Media, Paton is transforming his chain of 150 papers including established titles like The Denver Post, The Detroit News and the San Jose Mercury News. He believes that digital is where the money is and he’s got the track record to back that up. Named “Publisher of the Year” in 2009 by Editor & Publisher magazine, John Paton joins Douglas Knight, president of St. Joseph Media, in conversation at our CJF Forum.

Where: TMX Broadcast Centre Gallery, The Exchange Tower, 130 King St. West, Toronto
When: Thursday, February 16
Registration: 6:45 p.m. / Discussion: 7:00 p.m. / Reception 8:30 p.m.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS

JOHN PATON is the CEO of Digital First Media which operates Digital First Ventures, MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company with more than 800 digital and print products in 18 states serving 57 million customers per month. Paton is a career newspaper executive who has been responsible for both print and online divisions in the US, Canada, France and Spain. He is the co-founder of impreMedia, the largest news and information company for Hispanics in the US. In April 2009 he was named Publisher of the Year by Editor & Publisher. John, who has been involved in more than $4 billion in media transactions and financings involving both private and public companies, is a director of MediaNews Group, Journal Register Company, Postmedia Network and a member of the Board of Advisors for the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Newspaper Association of America and the International Board of Directors of the International News Marketing Association. John is a graduate of Ryerson University’s journalism program and has successfully completed the Finance for Senior Executives program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration. In 2006 his alma mater Ryerson University honored him with their Alumni of Distinction Award.

DOUGLAS KNIGHT is president of St. Joseph Media, Canada’s largest privately held magazine company, publisher of such award-winning titles as Toronto Life, Ottawa Magazine, Quill & Quire, Fashion Magazine, Canadian Family and the Where travel magazines in cities across Canada.  St. Joseph is also one of the most successful digital media companies in the country. A graduate of the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics, Mr. Knight was trained as a television producer at the CBC before moving to the dark side, where he has served as publisher of The Financial Post Magazine, publisher & CEO of the Financial Post, publisher & CEO of Toronto Sun, and as founding chair & CEO of impreMedia LLC, the largest publisher of Spanish language newspapers in the US, a company he co-founded with John Paton. He also co-founded a number of national awards programs including the Top 40 under 40, the CEO of the Year and Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies. He has served on a long list of arts, community, corporate and industry boards, including the Canadian Journalism Foundation where he served as chair of the Canadian Journalism Awards. In addition to his corporate board work, he is currently chair of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards and a director of Writer’s Trust of Canada.