The final day of the World Editors' Forum saw speakers discussing something which has eluded most newspapers around the world - turning a profit on their on-line activities.
The editor-in-chief of the largest newspaper website in the world, the New York Times site (www.nytimes.com), Mr Leonard M. Apcar, told the forum, which forms part of the WAN conference, that his site had been profitable now for seven consecutive quarters.
He said the debate over whether newspaper websites should be free or not was now "an old discussion".
He said the New York Times site achieved profitability without charging a subscription, but that was not necessarily the model for all media companies. He said one of the key things behind the site's success was to make sure inappropriate ads were not carried.
"In no way is this a call for news websites cluttered with advertisements which blink, wink or speak. I reject all of those ads, believing that the best advertisers expect an elegant, innovative environment both for our journalism and their message." He said you could tell a lot about the quality of a newspaper from its advertising.
"Ads that are offensive, misleading or unethical say something profound about our journalism. As editors, we ignore this side of the business at great peril to our news reports and our newsroom staffs."
Mr Apcar was addressing a conundrum that has faced most newspaper companies - maintaining an online readership while also not letting online sites become a drain on the parent companies. He said while his site did not charge a subscription, this did not mean everything was free.
"Not by a long shot. We charge our advertisers dearly for the privilege of taking their message to our readers. These forms of advertising can range from half page display ads to classified listings for apartments, cars and jobs."
"Almost 90 per cent of our revenue comes from advertisers but we are constantly looking for ways to grow alternative sources of income. Anything less would be risky and unwise," he said.
The big decision his company faced a few years ago was whether to get users to register or not. He said this was a risky strategy at first. Senior management were initially reluctant because they believed on a medium as new as the Internet there was little loyalty built up among readers.
But he said the company pressed ahead and it brought much success in its wake. "Today we have 11 million registered users who have come to the site at least once in the last year. More than two million of those registered users are outside the US. Many of the major newspaper sites in the US have since jumped on the registration bandwagon," he said.
"With registration, we have an abundance of information about our readers which our sales force uses when it calls on advertisers. We have age and income information. We also have the most vital link of all - email addresses."
Ms Deirdre Veldon, editor of ireland.com, said The Irish Times now charged a subscription for its services and as a result the site was close to break-even point.
She said the site simply could not depend on advertising to cover its cost base. She said while some parts of the site remained free, premium services were not.
While the change initially drew a hostile reaction, the site was now very popular with 18 million page impressions each month, she added.
She said the 20,000 mobile subscribers also produced a healthy revenue stream for the site. She said there was an argument to be made that advertisers regarded readers who pay as more valuable than those getting access for free.
She said in future "market thinning" in the on-line market in the Republic and elsewhere would help the site to progress. She said research showed that revenue from "paid content" would increase by 20 per cent in the next few years across the media.