The largest assembly of investigative and data journalists in Asia, the event is co-hosted by the Global Investigative Journalism Network, Newstapa, and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.
Famed Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar will keynote the 3rd Asian Investigative Journalism Conference this October 6 in Seoul, South Korea. A cartoonist since 1973, Zunar (Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque) has attracted international attention for his sharp satirical humor. The cartoonist brings the heart of an investigative journalist to his craft, digging into the corrupt acts of senior officials and other abuses of power.
Until the change in government this year, Zunar faced a decade of persecution. Malaysian authorities charged him with nine counts of sedition, threatening him with over 40 years in prison. They have twice imprisoned him, banned him from traveling abroad, raided his office and harassed his staff, printers, vendors, and bookstores. Officials banned five of his cartoon books on grounds that they were ‘detrimental to public order.’
For his years of standing up to authorities, Zunar has been honored with the International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2015, the Human Rights Watch Hellman/Hammett Award in 2011 and 2015, and the “Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award 2011” by Cartoonists Rights Network International. “They can ban my books, they can ban my cartoon, but they cannot ban my mind,” Zunar is fond of saying. “I will keep drawing until the last drop of my ink.”
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
