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Leading figures from print and publishing attend our 183rd Annual Luncheon at Stationers’ Hall

Nearly 200 leading figures in the UK’s printing and publishing industries attended our 183^rd Annual Luncheon at Stationers’ Hall, London, on 4 November.

This year’s guest speaker, award winning journalist and media guru, Phil Hall began by entertaining the audience with anecdotes from his time as Editor of "News of World". He went on to say that the internet is not necessarily the grim reaper for the printed word but newspapers have to realise that if they provide content for free they will kill the printed word.

Phil argued that the internet can be an ally and cited the case of one national newspaper that is successfully serving up a very different online offering from its printed version. He said that the print industry should use the new media frontiers as an opportunity and not regard them as a barrier to future success.

Our outgoing President, Michael Johnson, spoke about the charity’s achievements during his two-year term, including our rebranding as The Printing Charity and the increased spend under our grants programme from £189,000 to £450,000 since 2008. He also thanked Robert McClements, Print Yorkshire’s Chief Executive, and Garrick Staples, who took part in the 2010 Peking to Paris Car Rally to raise money for The Printing Charity.

The appointment of Sir Christopher Meyer, KCMG, as our President for 2011 was announced at the event. Sir Christopher’s distinguished diplomatic career culminated in his appointment as Ambassador to the United States. He has also served as Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission.

Stephen Gilbert, our Chief Executive, said: "Once again, those attending our Annual Luncheon entered into the spirit by helping us to raise £2,920 through the table draw. We would especially like to thank Hello! Magazine for sourcing a fabulous range of prizes on our behalf and the print and publishing industries for supporting our 183rd Annual Luncheon."