Opening Remarks - IAPA President Pierre Manigault

To my fellow directors and committee chairs, and to the publishers, editors, journalists, media executives and friends who have traveled from across the Americas and Spain: welcome. Your presence is a reminder of what this association makes possible when we come together.

Over these four days, we will hear from distinguished voices in journalism and the media industry in the Americas. We will examine artificial intelligence, sustainability, innovation, intellectual property and the relationship between news organizations and their audiences. We will also mark the thirtieth anniversary of Gabriel García Márquez’s memorable address to the IAPA, “The Best Profession in the World.” His words invite us to reflect not only on what journalism has become, but on what it must continue to be.

This Assembly takes place at a consequential moment. Across the Americas, press freedom is under pressure. The latest Chapultepec Index recorded the lowest regional score since the IAPA began this measurement. The erosion of press freedom is not limited to countries with fragile institutions. Even established democracies are showing troubling signs of regression.

The United States deserves particular attention. For generations, the First Amendment has stood as a powerful expression of the principle that government must not interfere with a free press. Yet public attacks on journalists, legal pressure against news organizations and restrictions on access to official information remind us that this principle cannot be taken for granted. When journalists must defend in court their right to gather news, the implications extend beyond one country. Practices normalized in Washington can be invoked elsewhere to justify similar restrictions.

These are not abstract concerns.

When journalists must go to court simply to defend their ability to seek information from public institutions, when access becomes conditioned or restricted, and when the enormous power of government is used to make independent scrutiny more difficult, we should all pay attention.

And when this happens in the United States, the consequences extend far beyond its borders.

What is normalized in Washington can become a justification in other capitals. Leaders who already view journalism as an obstacle rather than an essential democratic institution are watching. That is why the defense of press freedom in the United States today is also part of the defense of press freedom throughout the Americas.

Across Latin America, the situation is particularly alarming. Violence against journalists remains one of the gravest threats to press freedom. In countries such as Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and Guatemala, reporters continue to face threats, intimidation, and deadly attacks, often for investigating corruption, organized crime, or abuses of power. Behind every journalist murdered is a family devastated, a community deprived of essential information, and a warning to others who dare to investigate. And when these crimes go unpunished, impunity becomes an invitation to further violence.

At the same time, we are witnessing an increasingly sophisticated use of the law as an instrument of censorship. Criminal defamation proceedings, abusive lawsuits, arbitrary investigations, and restrictive legislation are being used to intimidate journalists and exhaust the resources of independent media. In some countries, the judicial system itself has become a tool of political retaliation. Elsewhere, restrictions on access to public information, official stigmatization, digital harassment, and surveillance are creating an environment in which journalists face growing pressure to remain silent.

In Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, systematic repression has dismantled much of the space for independent journalism, forcing reporters into exile, silencing critical voices, and depriving citizens of reliable information. In other countries, democratic institutions are being weakened gradually, through measures that may appear isolated but collectively erode the conditions necessary for a free press. We must recognize these warning signs before they become irreversible.

Our responsibility in IAPA is not simply to denounce individual violations, but to confront the broader patterns of repression, demand accountability, and stand in solidarity with journalists wherever their freedom and safety are threatened.

But political pressure is only part of the challenge. Economic fragility can be just as damaging to independent journalism. A newsroom without the resources to pay its reporters, pursue investigations, defend itself legally or reach its audience becomes more vulnerable. When an independent news organization disappears, a community loses more than a business. It loses a source of scrutiny, knowledge and accountability.

That is why sustainability has become an essential part of the IAPA’s work. Through SIPConnect and other initiatives, we are helping news organizations explore new revenue models, adopt technology responsibly and build stronger relationships with their audiences. Press freedom and economic resilience are not competing priorities. Each depends on the other.

We see that connection especially clearly in the experience of journalists in exile. Across the region, reporters and entire newsrooms have been forced to leave their countries simply to continue their work. Through RELPEX, the IAPA’s Latin American Network of Journalism in Exile, we are helping them sustain professional ties, develop new opportunities and keep reporting. Their perseverance offers a profound lesson: borders may interrupt a journalist’s life, but they need not silence a journalist’s voice. Supporting that work is an investment in the public’s right to know.

At the same time, artificial intelligence is reshaping how information is produced, discovered, distributed and valued. Its potential is considerable. So are the questions it raises about intellectual property, attribution, transparency, employment and trust. Journalism cannot embrace innovation at the expense of the reporting that gives information its value. Nor can individual news organizations resolve these issues on their own.

This brings me to a central conviction: our industry needs greater cohesion. Publishers, broadcasters, digital outlets, journalists, technology leaders and press freedom organizations must find more ways to work together. We compete in our markets, and we often hold different editorial views. That independence and diversity are strengths. But we share fundamental interests: protecting journalists from intimidation, safeguarding original reporting, preserving intellectual property and ensuring that technology strengthens rather than undermines the institutions that produce reliable news.

Fragmentation diminishes our influence. Cooperation gives us the reach to act. It allows us to exchange practical solutions, build alliances and speak with greater authority when the future of independent journalism is at stake. That is one of the IAPA’s most enduring strengths, and one we must continue to develop.

Yet no technology, regulation or business model can substitute for the quality of journalism itself. In an information environment crowded with synthetic content, misinformation and manipulation, credibility is our most important asset. We earn it by investigating thoroughly, verifying carefully, correcting openly and listening closely to the communities we serve. Our answer to uncertainty must be better journalism, not lower standards.

For more than eight decades, this association has united media organizations around a simple understanding: an attack on the freedom of one threatens the freedom of all. Today, that solidarity must also guide how we respond to economic change, technological disruption and the challenge of rebuilding trust. Freedom, sustainability, innovation and quality are not separate agendas. Together, they determine whether independent journalism can fulfill its democratic purpose.

Bogotá gives us an opportunity to turn shared concerns into shared action. I hope we leave these four days with new ideas, stronger partnerships and renewed confidence in what we can accomplish together. The challenges are substantial, but so is the talent, experience and commitment gathered in this room.

Thank you for your dedication to the IAPA and, above all, to journalism. It is my great honor to welcome you to our 82nd General Assembly. I wish you an inspiring and productive gathering.