New Independent owner Alexander Lebedev to open Society of Editors' annual conference

Alexander Lebedev, the new owner of the Independent and the Independent on Sunday, is to open the Society of Editors annual conference in November.

The Russian oligarch and former KGB agent bought the Independent in March 2010 and became a majority owner of the London Evening Standard in January 2009. He also co-owns the Russian pro-democracy newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, with Mikhail Gorbachev.

The conference, to be held in Glasgow and named 'Have we got GOOD news for you', will focus on "editors' efforts to build new platforms for news delivery, revenue streams and working practices at a time when they are fighting back after experiencing unprecedented economic and structural change," the Society announced today.

Speakers are yet to be announced but a provisional programme can be found at this link.

"Reports of the death of traditional news media were clearly much exaggerated. Every day we see reports of new initiatives that will transform the media in to what no less than Jon Snow described as a coming golden age of journalism," said the SoE president Donald Martin, editor of the Sunday Post in Scotland.

"We will throw off  the doom and gloom that has inhibited us in recent years and celebrate the vibrancy of the newspapers, broadcasting and the internet that informs and entertains readers, listeners and viewers."

The conference will begin with Lebedev's opening lecture on Sunday 14 November and will end with a '20:20 Vision' breakfast seminar on Tuesday 16 November 2010.

• Read coverage from last year's conference at this link.

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