WASHINGTON – WND founders Joseph and Elizabeth Farah were auditioning bands to play at the company's 10th anniversary celebration event the evening of May 11 in the nation's capital, when a musical lightbulb illuminated inside the editor and chief executive officer's head.
"Wait a minute," he thought. "Why are we listening to musical groups that have no real connection to WND, its history, its personality. I'll bet there are many, many musicians and bands out there who would love the opportunity to play our event."
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That gave birth to Farah's "Battle of the Bands" concept.
If you are part of a professional band interested in playing WND's 10th anniversary party Friday night, May 11, in Washington, all you need to do is send by email or link to the Farahs a video clip of your group performing.
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The group chosen will be able to play a variety of music – including jazz and the standards.
The band will be paid for the gig and provided accommodations at the Hilton Washington, where the event will be held as part of NEWS EXPO 2007. It will also receive national attention as the winner of WND's "Battle of the Bands."
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And how do you get to see the band and participate in the 10th anniversary party?
By registering today for NEWS EXPO 2007.
NEWS EXPO 2007 will be the world's greatest interactive, multimedia conference on and about the news ever produced. It will feature, among many other presentations, the first open forum of all presidential candidates. Invitations have been extended to all declared and major potential candidates to appear, make an opening statement and face questioning from attendees and participants.
In a rare public appearance in the nation's capital, the best-selling non-fiction author alive today, Hal Lindsey, a WND columnist, will be there to analyze the news in light of Bible prophecy, providing his keen insights into the latest developments in the Middle East.
In addition, Robert Pastor, the architect of the "North American Community" that would integrate the U.S., Mexico and Canada, will publicly debate his proposals with author and WND columnist Jerome Corsi at NEWS EXPO 2007 in Washington, May 11.
It will be the first debate of its kind between a major proponent of North American integration and an outspoken critic.
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If you'd like to be a part of the excitement of NEWS EXPO 2007, there's more good news. Sign up today and save $265 off the regular registration cost and make yourself eligible for a free cruise for two with WND next January.
All registrants to NEWS EXPO 2007 are automatically eligible for a special drawing for two free tickets to WND's luxurious Holland America Caribbean 10th anniversary cruise set for January 2008. That's right. You can win a cruise for two just by signing up – and your odds are good because somebody attending that conference is going to win.
The drawing for those tickets will also be held at News Expo. Winners will get a free window stateroom on the cruise that will be the culmination of WND's 10-year anniversary celebration.
The cruise offer is for all those who register for the entire two-day NEWS EXPO 2007 event in Washington. It includes two full days of programming – debates, Q&As with top newsmakers, open mikes on the floor, lively interaction between attendees and speakers, multimedia presentations – a Friday 10-year anniversary bash for WND and a big Saturday night awards banquet featuring Ann Coulter.
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The next 100 registrants will also receive free a $50 coupon good for any merchandise in the WND online store Shop.WND.com. The coupon can be redeemed over the telephone with customer service agents before the conference or at NEWS EXPO 2007.
Other highlights of NEWS EXPO 2007 include a keynote address by columnist-author Ann Coulter and presentations by Farah, author of "Taking America Back," David Kupelian, author of "The Marketing of Evil," WND Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein and Joan Peters, author of "From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict."
NEWS EXPO 2007 promises to be unlike any other conference held in Washington – or, for that matter, anywhere else, says Farah.
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"I promise no academic speeches, no long, boring panel discussions," says Joseph Farah, founder of WND and a director of NEWS EXPO 2007. "The goal is to keep the audience on the edge of their seats throughout two days of interpersonal news engagement. It's an opportunity for ordinary people to come mix it up with the news professionals and newsmakers they watch on television."
There are many conferences where national issues are debated and discussed. But never before, he says, has an event like this been organized with the specific intent of breaking news – bringing attention to under-reported stories, ideas, whistleblowers and newsmakers in a forum designed especially for those on the front lines.
News junkies, bloggers and long-established news organizations will sit side by side and have equal access to the news makers.
Topics explored will include border security, immigration, plans for a "North American Union," Islamic terrorism, the Middle East conflict, religious freedom, the proper role of a free press in a free society and "the culture war."
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Join WND's founders, Joseph and Elizabeth Farah, at the 10th anniversary celebration of the leading independent news source on the Internet.
Join Coulter & Company for the first annual "Courage in Media Awards" presentations.
Make plans now to participate in NEWS EXPO 2007 in Washington, D.C., May 11-12.
Think of it as the world's fair of news!
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NEWS EXPO 2007 is planned as the first of a series of annual events to explore news in a new way, to put under the bright lights of examination ideas, stories and activists worthy of more examination, to demystify the process of news gathering, to honor the best, the bold and brave in media work and, most of all, to uphold the highest calling of the American free press – to seek the truth – and, in this case, have fun doing it.
Are you a news junkie? Are you a blogger? Are you a part of the New Media? Are you part of the mainstream media and just trying to understand the changing dynamics of the news business? Do you really believe that the truth will set us all free?
Many more exciting speakers and presenters will be added to the program in the weeks ahead. But News Expo 2007 is already shaping up as the most important Washington conference of the year.
All you have to do is sign up now to participate in NEWS EXPO 2007.
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And, again, you can save up to $265 by registering early for the full conference experience – including the keynote address by Ann Coulter at the awards gala grand finale evening Saturday night.
Be sure to get extra savings by booking your rooms at the Hilton Washington now and locking up the special conference discount.