CNN News Boss to address PATA Conference

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced that Mr. Chris Cramer, Managing Director of CNN International, will deliver the closing keynote address at the 53rd PATA Annual Conference, Jeju Island, Korea (ROK), April 18-22, 2004.

Mr. Cramer is responsible for overseeing CNN International’s worldwide newsgathering operation outside the U.S., as well as the network’s editorial content and programming, including the five flagship CNN International services in English, CNN en Espanol, CNNj (Japan) and joint ventures such as n-tv, CNN+ and CNN Turk.

In September 1997, he launched "regionalisation", an initiative that led to the creation of five separately scheduled English language international CNN channels which serve Europe/Middle East/Africa, Asia Pacific, South Asia, Latin America, and North America.

Before joining CNN in 1996, Mr. Cramer was Head of Newsgathering for the BBC and sat on the BBC’s News and Current Affairs Management Board. He was with the BBC for 25 years, working his way up from regional reporter.

The theme of the 53rd PATA Annual Conference is, "Tourism is Everybody’s Business."

The 2004 PATA Annual Conference Programme Chairman, Mr. Chee-Chye Tan, said that the power of recognised international news brands clearly influenced decision makers in all sectors of society.

Mr. Tan said: "Mr. Cramer’s cutting-edge experience in the world of international news sets up the enticing prospect of a closing keynote in which every member of the audience will have a passionate interest."

Mr. Cramer is also honorary president of the International News Safety Institute, a global organisation which aims to protect journalists. He is a fellow of the Royal Television Society, a member of the British Association of Film and Television Arts, and a member of the Board of Councillors for the Jimmy Carter Center in Atlanta. Mr. Cramer is the author of the book, Hostage, a first-hand account of the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London where he was held hostage.