The Director of the Department of Communication Sciences and Journalism of the UCA, Hernán Cappiello, together with the journalist of the newspaper La Nación, Hugo Alconada Mon, during the second day of the CLAEP annual congress on Wednesday, May 28.
Buenos Aires (May 28, 2025) — The second and third days of the meeting of the Latin American Council for Journalism and Communication Education Accreditation (CLAEP), held at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, offered an intense and diverse journey through the challenges and opportunities of contemporary journalism, shaped by technological disruption through artificial intelligence, social polarization, and the transformation of the profession.
One of the highlights this morning was the presentation by Héctor Aranda, Vice President of Grupo Clarín and CEO of Agea S.A., who shared a thoughtful reflection on the present and future of the media in Argentina and the region. He emphasized the need to strategically integrate the different roles within media organizations, focusing on content performance and the use of real-time metrics as the axis of cultural transformation. He underlined the importance of aligning areas such as editorial, advertising, technology, subscriptions, human capital, and financial administration around common goals, where audience and data are the key resources for decision-making.
Aranda offered a critical perspective on current news consumption, the fragmentation of public debate, and the impact of digital anonymity. He noted that historically, newspapers reached 10% of the population, a proportion that remains unchanged even with massive online audiences, as major digital media outlets only manage to engage a fraction of dispersed users. “Anonymity on social networks is no minor detail,” he warned. “While journalism bears a name, a face, and accountability, in the digital world others are degraded from behind anonymity, polarization is fueled, and falsehoods are spread without consequence. That dynamic erodes public debate and impoverishes democracy.”
Tuesday's session included a keynote by Daniel Hadad, founder of Infobae, titled “Innovate or Disappear: Doing Journalism Amid Digital Disruption.” He called on newsrooms to adopt a tech-oriented mindset without losing their commitment to truth. “It’s not about choosing between the algorithm and the journalist but about integrating both in the service of the public,” Hadad emphasized, in a talk that deeply resonated with attendees.
Hadad also warned of the dangers of information overload, speed, and lack of context in digital news. “The biggest problem today is no longer censorship, but irrelevance,” he said. According to the Infobae founder, newsrooms must reclaim journalism’s value through credibility, smart content curation, and the development of innovative products.
Throughout the three-day CLAEP meeting, workshops, panels, and discussions featured renowned speakers. Among them, a notable session led by Carlos Pagni and Jorge Liotti tackled journalism’s role in the face of political and economic power amid growing tensions and disinformation campaigns.
Colombian journalist Carlos Eduardo Huertas, director of CONNECTAS, delivered a keynote on the importance of transnational collaboration, ongoing training, and the strategic use of technology to sustain high-quality journalism.
One of the most anticipated moments was the presentation by Hugo Alconada Mon, who, with his direct and committed tone, argued that in today’s climate of pressure, opacity, and silencing attempts, “investigative journalism is no longer a solo task but a collective enterprise.” The La Nación journalist urged a move away from the lone-reporter myth toward a logic of networks, alliances, and collaboration among media and journalists. “The future of investigative journalism depends on how much we are willing to share,” he affirmed.
This week, Alconada was the target of a coordinated attack intended to intimidate him, just hours after he revealed that Argentina’s Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE) had approved a National Intelligence Plan to collect information on journalists, economists, and other "actors" who might undermine trust in government officials.
The IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.