Australia's news media publishers are in town for two big nights of self-congratulation and a forward-looking day of prospects and reality.

The NewsMediaWorks programme begins in Sydney tonight with the presentation of advertising and marketing awards and will finish with the Newspaper of the Year dinner and presentation of annual PANPA awards on Friday night.

Tomorrow's Future Forum plenary sessions are intended to fire up and prepare delegates - most of whom come from majors News Corp Australia and FairfaxMedia - for the challenges of the coming year.

With the abolition of weekday print editions a local talking point, a speaker from La Presse in Quebec is slated to share his company's experience of replacing weekday papers with a smartphone app.

Fairfax has already made it clear that the issue is a matter of 'when' not 'if' while News newspapers are making an opposing line of the comments of recent visitor from head office, Robert Thomson.

But never say 'never', and realistically their position may be something between denial and wishful thinking... and tomorrow's La Presse address part of a softening-up process.

With the chiefs of News and Fairfax, Michael Miller and Greg Hywood (respectively) just back from lobbying on media reform in Canberra, an update on this is also likely to be part of the chief executives' panel, albeit with the prospect of another setback.

As are problems with audience measurement, a topic on which Miller has expressed views this week.

This year's Forum is a one-day event without the marketing, editorial and production workshops of previous years, but nonetheless includes ample time for networking at all levels. And with two acquisitions (in WA and Queensland) before the ACCC, and another across the Tasman in New Zealand, there's plenty to talk about, as well as the prospect of a somewhat different-looking Forum next year.

As for tonight's - good luck to all the entrants - and tomorrow's happenings, watch this space!

Peter Coleman

Pictured: Sydney's Ivy is a popular venue at night