He joins the list of top speakers already confirmed for the event in Glasgow between November 14 and 16.
A former managing director of Trinity Mirror, Watson was appointed CEO of Syco Entertainment, a joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment, earlier this year. He is now responsible for overseeing the expansion of Syco in the US and the preparation for the launch of The X Factor on Fox in 2011.
Alexander Lebedev owner of the London Evening Standard, The Independent and the Independent on Sunday, will deliver the prestigious Society of Editors lecture on the evening of Sunday November 14 soon after the launch of the new i, the spin-off version of The Independent with a cover price of just 20 pence targeting "readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers".
Other names added to the bill include Martin Clarke, publisher of MailOnline, which has remained the most visited national newspaper website since January.
John Kampfner, Chief Executive, Index on Censorship, will be providing delegates with the latest on libel reform along with lawyer Tony Jaffa of Foot Anstey who represents many regional newspapers.
The Parliamentary and Legal session on the Media and Democracy will include speakers Bill Akass, Managing Editor, News of the World and Clare Sambrook, who has been shortlisted for the Bevins Prize for investigating the detention of children in the immigration system as well as PA Ireland Editor Deric Henderson and Kent Messenger group political editor Paul Francis.
The new chair of the BJTC, Marie Kinsey, will be joined by Joanne Butcher, Chief Executive, NCTJ and Stephen Heppell, CEO, Heppell.net and Visiting Professor, Bournemouth University, to discuss the kind of journalists who will be needed for the future.
The first main Monday morning session will include Stewart Purvis, Professor of Television Journalism, City University London and formerly Partner for Content & Standard of Ofcom. He will be joined by Mike Ironside, Chief Executive, National Readership Survey and Jim Chisholm, media consultant and analyst. The Tuesday closing session will include speakers Simon Kelner, Editor-in-Chief, The Independent, Maria McGeoghan, Editor, Manchester Evening News, Douglas McCabe, Press and Online Analyst, Enders Analysis and Jodie Ginsberg, Bureau Chief, UK and Ireland, Thomson Reuters.
Scottish comedian and presenter Fred MacAulay will also entertain guests at the gala dinner.
The conference Have we got GOOD news for you will focus on editors’ efforts to build new platforms for news delivery, revenue streams and working practices at a time when they are fighting back after experiencing unprecedented economic and structural change.
Supported by Camelot, Clydesdale Bank, BBC Scotland, DC Thomson, Press Association, Foot Anstey, Diagio, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and Glasgow 2014, it will take place from Sunday November 14 to Tuesday November 16 in the Grand Central Hotel at Glasgow Central Station that is being refurbished to recreate in contemporary style the splendour of the by-gone age of rail travel.
SoE president Donald Martin, editor of Scotland’s Sunday Post and Weekly News and Editor-in-Chief of DC Newspapers Dundee said: “We will throw off the doom and gloom that has inhibited us in recent years and celebrate the vibrancy of the newspapers, broadcasting and the internet that informs and entertains readers, listeners and viewers.
The conference is attended by editors and senior executives from across the UK and beyond. The Grand Central is adjacent to rail links at the heart of the city.
It will open on Sunday 14 November with the Society of Editors Lecture. Monday 15 November will be given over to working sessions on numerous topics with time in between to meet faces old and new. The annual gala dinner will follow in the evening. It will be an impressive occasion for hundreds of media guests, say the organisers.
Closing with the now traditional 20:20 Vision breakfast seminar on the morning of Tuesday 16 November, the conference claims to set the agenda for media debate throughout the year.
Delegate fees have been held at or below previous levels and discounts are available for regional media.
Book now online at www.societyofeditors.org, by email or by telephone (01223 304080).
