by Xinhua writer Kang Yi

    LONDON, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Each media organization must find its own path to prosperity by engaging with its audience, using technology effectively and keeping its reporting relevant, Reuters' Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger says.

    "We need to stop thinking about a division between new media and traditional media, " Schlesinger told Xinhua in an interview ahead of the world media summit to be held in Beijing on Oct. 7-10.

    Schlesinger said media organizations that consider themselves "traditional" face significant changes in their business models and in the reading or viewing habits of their audience.

    Therefore, he said, all media organizations -- if they are to survive and prosper -- must use good journalism, technology and new techniques to engage with their audience and stay relevant.

    When asked about the challenges Reuters is facing, Schlesinger said the financial crisis has been a dominant factor this year.

    "It has been an important and exciting story to cover, and it has also affected all of our clients, whether they are in financial services, in the media or individual consumers," he added.

    Reuters is the first foreign news agency to set foot in China after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. It now has 24 correspondents stationed in the country with a much larger local support team working on the ground.

    "It's definitely one of the biggest foreign media presences in China," Schlesinger said.

    Schlesinger has had long-time contacts with China since he paid his first visit in 1979. He was posted in Beijing during 1991 and 1994 as a Reuters correspondent. Even now, he visits Beijing at least once a year.

    As China's society has changed dramatically in the period of reform and opening up, so have citizens' expectations of the role of media in society, Schlesinger said. "I am sure that openness and transparency will pay dividends," he added.

    On the upcoming world media summit, which will focus on the challenges the world media industry is facing in the digital era, Schlesinger said the event will be a success if participants approach it with an open mind and a commitment to sharing their ideas and experiences.

    "I think Xinhua, as the host and cosponsor of the summit, has worked very hard to bring people together. I am sure that in the sharing of ideas and in the atmosphere of Beijing, new opportunities for partnerships will emerge as will new ideas," he said.

    "Reuters has been a friend and partner of Xinhua for more than half a century and I expect that relationship to continue and grow," Schlesinger said.