First Minister to address Scottish Newspaper Society conference

First Minister Alex Salmond will address senior Scottish newspaper figures at the inaugural Scottish Newspaper Society conference on Thursday.

He is expected to refer to the major issues affecting the industry, including press regulation, in the event at Glasgow’s Radisson Blu Hotel.

SNS director John McLellan said: “It is obviously a historic year for Scotland politically, but it is also a crucial year for the newspaper industry as a whole and we are looking forward to hearing the First Minister’s views on a wide range of topics affecting our industry.”

Organised in association with First ScotRail, the conference’s opening speech is from Lord Black of Brentwood, the chief architect of the new Independent Press Standards Organisation which is to replace the Press Complaints Commission.

Ellis Watson, chief executive of Courier publisher DC Thomson, will also make a keynote address.

There will also be two debate sessions featuring Scottish information commissioner Rosemary Agnew and Glasgow University’s Professor Philip Schlessinger.