Steve Hannah, CEO of The Onion, to Present Keynote Address at Publishing Business Conference & Expo

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Steve Hannah, who has been president and CEO of The Onion for seven years, will deliver the keynote address at the 2011 Publishing Business Conference & Expo, at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square on Monday, April 4, 2011, at 10:05 a.m., following a welcome address by David Granger, editor-in-chief of Esquire magazine.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110215/NE48658 )

In an event sure to make you laugh -- and possibly cry -- Hannah will give a behind-the-scenes look at The Onion and its cross-media growth, its recent print-licensing partnerships and recently launched TV shows, as well as its plans for "world domination, plain and simple."

The keynote address is FREE to attend for book or magazine publishers.  Vendors and Suppliers to the industry are charged $35. Register online at: http://www.PublishingBusiness.com or call 888-627-2630.

Attendees Will Get a behind-the-scenes look at 'the most powerful and feared media empire in the world' and its plans for 'world domination.'

With plans to take over the world's media, as The Onion President and CEO Steve Hannah says, the satirical media company The Onion (billed as "America's Finest News Source") may well be on its way. What started in 1988 in a dorm room at the University of Wisconsin has gone from being a weekly campus newspaper "to the most powerful and feared media empire in the world."

It has grown into the epitome of an integrated media company, spanning:

• print (published in 12 major cities);
• online (with 10 million monthly uniques online, e-newsletters, video);
• books (such as "Our Dumb Century" and "Our Dumb World," which regularly make The New York Times Best Sellers list, and next year, the "last printed encyclopedia in the history of the world");
• calendars, cards, stickers, magnets, mugs, gifts, maps;
• radio (with 1 million national listeners to Onion Radio News.);
• iPhone and Android apps; and now
• television. (The Onion launched two new TV shows this year, "Onion SportsDome" on Comedy Central, and "The Onion News Network" on IFC).

The media organization was among the early adopters of video, launching its Onion News Network, a 24-hour video news network, in 2007.

The Onion has more than 2.5 million Twitter followers and approximately 1.5 million Facebook fans.

The Onion also launched a sister brand, The A.V. Club, a pop-culture website (with 2 million monthly uniques), which The New York Times referred to as "where the smart kids go" to get news about music, film, video games, books, etc.

For more information about the Publishing Business Conference & Expo, produced by Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines, or to register, visit http://www.PublishingBusiness.com. To register as press, email [email protected] with your press credentials.

SOURCE North American Publishing Co.