Hot new trends, top experts, closed deals... over 1,400 participants of the first Weekend Media Festival from all around the region hung out, exchanged experiences and struck up friendships in Rovinj. The festival, first ever, gathered some of the most prominent names from the world of the media, marketing and PR. We were joined by participants from Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and over 170 accredited journalists from all over the region covered the event.

Is TV dead? Or is it alive, more now than ever? Should we fear newspapers going extinct? Will the internet become king of all the media? Entrepreneurs, publishers, academics, journalists and editors-in-chief met in Rovinj to discuss these and other current topics in the world of the media. The participants of the Weekend Media Festival came from the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT), Nova TV, RTL, RTS, Federalna TV, Večernji list, 24sata, EPH, Adriamedia, NCL Group, B92, Zagrebačka banka, T-HT, Google, Facebook, Nokia, McCann Erickson, Grey Worldwide, Unex, BBDO, HBO, PINK TV, Privredna banka, etc.

Lectures were delivered by top-notch experts with different backgrounds, including Blake Chandlee, head of Facebook in Europe, and Joseph Jaffe, one of the most sought-after consultants for the large global corporations and lecturer on new media. At the same time, different media trends were the main topics of the roundtable discussions, such as the one titled "Public TV: Servant or Master of the Public", featuring head of the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) and Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) Vanja Sutlić and Aleksandar Tijanić respectively, and the roundtable discussion "TV production in the Region: Mission Impossible", with Nebojša Taraba, Branko Đurić Đuro and Dragan Bjelogrlić, as well as a panel discussion on the celebrity culture and a panel discussion on the "Mediazation of Politics: Politicians as Celebrities!"

Last year's Weekend Media Festival also welcomed 100 students from the countries in the region, and they all attended lectures and specific discussions on the position of the media in the region, public TV and cable TV, copyright, regional experiences, and education of the online journalists. At the same time, the Weekend TV program aired pilot episodes of the then new shows by independent production companies, and the Croatian telenovela "Everything Will Be Fine" was also promoted during the festival.

Finally, these excellent lectures were followed by superb entertainment – the Weekend offered three huge parties. The Welcome Henessy party was held on Thursday, the Paradise Island party, supported by the daily 24sata and featuring the Latin legend Coati Mundi, took place on Friday, while the spectacular Kulušić Reunion party, dedicated to the legendary Zagreb club, was thrown on Saturday. That night, alongside the most famous Kulušić Club DJs, New Wave icons Maks Jurčić, Davorin Bogović and Vlada Divljan performed as well, accompanied by an all-star band. The entire festival took place in the old Rovinj tobacco factory, redecorated especially for the occasion into a unique festival venue.