Good afternoon. As I only have a couple of minutes, let me get straight to the point.

First, journalism is not synonymous with newspapers and today the discussion has focused too much on newspapers alone. Second, journalism will do more than survive the Internet Age, it will thrive. It will thrive as creators and publishers embrace the collaborative power of new technologies, retool production and distribution strategies and we stop trying to do everything ourselves.

I agree with Mr. Murdoch that the bold will survive and the timid will fail. However, the newfangled aggregators/curators and the dominant search engines are certainly not the enemy of journalism. Nor are they the salvation. They do not always refrain from doing evil in their pursuit of profit and audience. And they do fail to “do unto others” at times -– some do steal and use complete or near-complete copies of our and other work and use ad networks such as AdSense to unlawfully monetize without sharing.

That said, most are a constructive and competitive part of the news ecosystem, I welcome them and I continue to believe and support the link economy.

At Thomson Reuters, I am lucky to oversee the business of both the world’s most indispensible news agency as well as our innovative publishing arm, Reuters.com. Thus, I see the challenges and opportunities from both sides of the aisle. Many of you in this room are clients of ours (or should be) and some of you are our competitors. Perhaps different from those who wish they could roll back the clock, we prefer to lean into the winds of change.

Like many we grapple with the coverage, cost and value issues of content scarcity vs. abundance as well as content uniqueness vs. utility. We choose to maximize the value of each of these four quadrants and have adaptive business models and markets which allow us to. For example, we focus principally on the importance of vertical and niche markets that have subscription-oriented models — this where our firm derives the vast majority of its revenues. We focus obsessively on the needs of professionals in those markets we serve. We don’t want to be all things to all people. We want to create journalism that has unique value to our clients, and partner with creators as warranted and needed. Most importantly, we focus on creating and providing valuable services — not just content.

As the world’s most indispensible news agency, we are very focused on the long-term health of our clients and the particular needs of news professionals. To foster cost-efficient growth, we see an opportunity for greater collaboration and partnership amongst all content creators.

We see a world that opens up the newsroom and news gathering process to allow the highest quality and valuable content to flow better from creators to publishers. This new network of syndication is predicated on serving the needs of publishers and their audiences – not what one organization or another simply wants to produce. It is inherently multisource, with rights defined and carrying multiple revenue streams, be they subscription, a la carte, bulk purchase, link-back or revenue sharing. This is a network based on choice and it must be collaborative.

This is the B2B content network the world needs now – and that is what we are building.

We see this platform as an open network that applies consistent metadata to create “intelligent information” designed to help publishers and broadcasters better manage their own and 3rd party content. This is not about locking publishing partners down or blocking search engines – but is about helping all content producers to develop new revenue streams as both a publisher and syndicator of their content. It is about letting the creator choose the most appropriate monetization model for themselves.

We fervently believe that value must always be conferred to the original creator – whoever that is, big or small, incumbent or insurgent.

This is an open platform which will allow publishers to save money by specializing and focusing on what they can uniquely do best – and (to paraphrase Jeff Jarvis) outsource the rest.

It will allow publishers to right-size their coverage efforts and stop wasting resources on writing the umpteenth undifferentiated story that is available elsewhere. Let’s be honest, too much resource and money is spent on regurgitation as opposed to unique and differentiated labor. It will allow creators to specialize on meeting the unique needs of their audience and will foster creativity.

Coupled with responsible behavior by all participants in the link economy – and I do mean all, both incumbent and insurgent – we will see the evolution to a new golden age of journalism and much, much more.

Thank you.

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Reuters is a news power house – our 2,800 journalists in 190 different bureaus around the world are dedicated to being the indispensable news source. News has been in our blood for more than a century and a half, but we’ve always been restlessly innovating and always looking to the future.

For Reuters.com, the future is now.

This is our redesign, a year in the making. That’s a year of extensive discussions with people like you, our elite audience of business professionals, about what would make the site better and faster and easier to use for you as you drive business activity around the world.

We want this to be the world’s best website covering business and finance news, analysis, and opinion. Full stop.

We want you to be able to come for a quick glance at the top headlines, or a longer deep dive into a topic that’s important to you. We want you to scan the output of the 2,800 men and women or hone in on a favorite writer or photographer.

This site is for you; we want it to be your ticket to a wealth of news, information, and analysis presented in a cutting-edge format, including text, video, pictures, graphics, user interaction, and personalization features (try the new toolbar at the bottom of every page).

Remember, too, that this is the front door of Thomson Reuters. In addition to the news you see here, Thomson Reuters is also the world’s leader in providing news, information, services, and technology to healthcare, legal, business, and financial professionals. What that means is that our journalism is professional grade, giving our users the inside edge needed to make important decisions.

We’re proud of our new home, and hope you like it. And this is just the beginning. In the coming months, we will continue to roll out new features and functionality.

Please give us your feedback. Write to csmedia@thomsonreuters.com. And come back often. There’s a world of news we’ve got for you.

David Schlesinger
Editor-in-chief, Reuters

Highlights:

*  President Barack Obama holds a forum on job creation with U.S. business leaders to devise ways to combat double-digit unemployment.

*  Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke vowed before taking office to follow in the footsteps of his storied predecessor, Alan Greenspan, but he will likely distance himself from the past when he testifies before the Senate Banking Committee in a bid to win confirmation to a fresh four-year stint at the helm of the U.S. central bank.

*  At the Reuters Media Summit, being held in  New York and London, we hear from Google President Global Sales Operations and Business Development Nikesh Arora and Take-Two Interactive Chairman Strauss Zelnick.

*  Reporting quarterly results are: Toll Brothers, Bombardier and Marvell Technology Group.

Other highlights:

*  The lead committee on financial regulatory reform in the House of Representatives is expected to approve the last two of eight major regulatory bills.

*  Ford is expected to reveal its highly anticipated new Fiesta small car at the LA Auto Show, which runs through Thursday, while General Motors plans to showcase the U.S. production version of its new Chevrolet Cruze small car.

*  At the third day of the Reuters Media Summit we talk with WPP CEO Martin Sorrell, IAC CEO Barry Diller and Financial Times CEO John Ridding.

*  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies before a Senate Committee on Agriculture hearing on OTC derivatives reform at 9:30 a.m. EST.

Other highlights:

*  The U.S. manufacturing sector is expected to have grown in November, but at a slower pace than October, underscoring the fragility of the economic recovery. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index reading is estimated at 55.0 in November. Read preview here.

*  Tuesday is the deadline for shareholders of Norwegian video conferencing system maker Tandberg to accept Cisco’s takeover offer.

*  The Street will look for any signal from Staples of an uptick in sales to small businesses and a report card of the office-products retailer’s performance in the back-to-school season when it reports quarterly results.

*  At the second day of the Reuters Media Summit, being held in New York and London, we speak with Time Warner Cable Chairman, President & CEO Glenn Britt and Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello.

Read more on Dubai’s debt woes in the following stories.

- Who is who in Dubai corporate map

- Banks, world leaders play down Dubai debt threat

- Dubai must recover investor faith

Other Highlights:

*  It’s a big day for economic data with personal spending and income, consumer sentiment, new home sales and the weekly jobless claims on tap.

*  Tiffany reports results that will show whether it has been able to sustain the improvement in sales it reported in August.

*  Deere & Co reports fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and will provide investors with a preliminary glimpse into the coming year.

*  At the Reuters India Investment Summit in Bangalore and Mumbai, speakers include top executives from Infosys Technologies, Wipro, SAP India, Mphasis and Mahindra Satyam.

When the government announces revised third quarter GDP figures at 8:30 am EST, analysts expect weaker numbers than previously reported as companies slashed inventories. The initial reading came in at 3.5 percent but economists in a Reuters poll now see a softer 2.9 percent.

In the afternoon, investors will get a look at the minutes of the FOMC’s Nov 3-4 policy meeting and will be looking for any sign the Fed is preparing to exit its ultra-easy policy.

On the earnings side of the coin, H.J. Heinz, Barns and Noble and Borders Group, along with American Eagle and Warner Music Group will unveil their latest results.

Other Highlights:

*  Nortel assets hit the auction block. Nokia Siemens Networks and private equity firm One Equity Partners have jointly bid for Nortel Networks Corp’s optical networking and carrier ethernet business, a person familiar with the sale said on Wednesday.

*  The Bank of Japan announces the decision of its two-day policy board meeting.