Conference underscores newsletter industry's keen interest in the internet--and vice versa.

The title of the 24th annual meeting of the Newsletter & Electronic Publishers Association was "New Name, New Century, New Media," but it could also have included "New Faces." The June 4-6 conference in Washington, D.C., featured a growing number of people from other media and from electronic enterprises.

Total attendance was about 825 publishers, editors, reporters, marketers, consultants, brokers and suppliers from 28 states, Canada, England, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Spain," and Australia. More than 130 speakers volunteered to share their expertise.

Electronic publishing continued to dominate the 70 conference sessions, but direct marketing (including online promotion) also captured the attention of publishers and marketers. One veteran publisher said he hadn't attended the annual meeting for three years but was able "to pick up where I left off" in sessions on, for example, promotion, site licensing, hiring and training employees, editorial audits, raising money, and customer relations. He added, however, that in those three years newsletter publishers have become much more sophisticated in their understanding and use of the internet--an area where he felt somewhat left behind.

In addition to such internet concerns as privacy, e-mail permission marketing, copyright violations, and the various methods of delivering information, many publishers found themselves for the first time looking for and hiring advertising sales personnel. For a long time barely a priority for newsletter publishers, ads and sponsorships are now becoming valued sources of online revenue.

On the downside, grumbling in the hallways and at the receptions centered on two complaints, one perennial and one new. A record number of more than 35 vendors (many touting their internet expertise) were divided into two rooms, one of them decidedly "off the beaten track." It's an old problem that demands a new solution for next year, some of the disgruntled suppliers noted.

Those attending from the Washington area complained that they could no longer "share" the price of admission--that is, various people from the same company paying one fee and taking turns attending various sessions and events. The practice was apparently abused over the years. Despite the complaining, out-of-towners paying airline fares and hotel bills offered little sympathy.

Conference participants were pleased with chairman Marjorie Weiner's success in bringing in many speakers from outside the traditional newsletter industry. They included:

* Online marketing experts Aleta Thompson, of Qpass, and Rosalind Resnick, of NetCreations Inc.

* LuAnne Spurrell of Brain-bench Inc., a leading online skills-testing and certification authority 

* LEXIS Publishing senior director J. Timothy Payne

* Valerie Voci, publisher of Post-Newsweek Business Information Inc.'s Newsbytes.com

* Glenn Ochsenreiter, founder of Waldensoftware and currently vice president, industry relations, of iCopyright.com.

* Dr. Jonathan Schull, founder, chief technology officer and inventor of SoftLock.com Solution.

* Human resources expert Fern Cantor of Rafael Hotels Limited

* Kerry Lauerman. Washington bureau chief of Salon.com

* Michael Craig, vice president of enews.com, the leading magazine retailer on the internet.

* Randall K. Smith, CEO of ECNext and an expert in international trade and electronic commerce.

Marjorie Weiner, NEPA executive director Patricia Wysocki and her staff are to be congratulated for an efficient, enjoyable and information-packed meeting.