The IAPA’s virtual event will take place on April 23 and 24
Miami (March 13, 2026) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) will hold its Midyear Meeting on April 23 and 24, 2026, a virtual gathering of editors, media executives, journalists, academics and specialists to discuss the main challenges facing journalism in the Americas, including the disruption caused by artificial intelligence, the sustainability of news organizations and the deterioration of press freedom in the region.
The meeting will be inaugurated by IAPA President Pierre Manigault and will feature international experts who will analyze how new technologies are transforming newsrooms and the business models of journalism. Participants include Spanish academic Miguel Carvajal, director of the Master’s Degree in Innovation in Journalism at Miguel Hernández University; Colombian digital innovator Claudia Báez; public policy specialist Iacob Carvalho Gammeltoft of News Media Europe; and Paula Miraglia, director of Momentum.
The preliminary program will also include concrete experiences in the adoption of artificial intelligence in media organizations in Latin America. In that context, Pablo Hamada of La Gaceta de Tucumán, Argentina, and José Carlos García, multimedia editor of El Tiempo of Colombia, will participate. In addition, Alejandra Brambila of the Google will present the results of prototypes developed by media organizations within the framework of the AI Product Lab program, a technological innovation initiative developed by the IAPA with the support of Google.
Another focus of the meeting will be the sustainability of publicinterest journalism and the search for new funding models for newsrooms. This panel will feature Ken Doctor, founder and CEO of Lookout Local in the United States, and Jonathan Bock, executive director of Colombia’s Fondo Futuro, moderated by Gabriela Vivanco, chair of the IAPA Executive Committee.
The agenda will also include a discussion on the risks, opportunities and safeguards in the adoption of artificial intelligence in journalism, with the participation of Franco Piccato, executive director of Chequeado in Argentina; Juan Aurelio Arévalo, editorinchief of El Comercio of Peru; and Jazmín Acuña, cofounder and editorial director of El Surtidor of Paraguay.
In a context marked by growing political tensions and pressures against journalism, the meeting will dedicate a special session to analyzing the state of democracy and freedom of expression in the Americas. Participants will include political scientist Javier Corrales, professor at Amherst College, and Venezuelan journalist Boris Muñoz, founder of the Opinion section of The New York Times en Español.
The second day will begin with a reflection by Martha Ramos, chair of the IAPA Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, and will include a special presentation by Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, founder of elPeriódico, whose case has become one of the most notable symbols of judicial attacks against independent journalism in the region.
During the meeting, participants will also analyze the status and future of the Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression of the Organization of American States in a dialogue featuring Pedro Vaca, OAS Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, together with IAPA First Vice President Carlos Jornet and Martha Ramos.
The meeting will also address the phenomenon of journalism in exile and the work of the Latin American Network of Journalism in Exile (RELPEX), an IAPA initiative aimed at supporting journalists and media organizations forced to leave their countries due to persecution or censorship.
The program will also include an analysis of complex mechanisms used to pressure and weaken journalism, with the participation of Armando Castilla, general director of Grupo Vanguardia of Mexico, and Galo Martínez Leisker, executive president of Gráficos Nacionales of Ecuador. Joel Simon, founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at the City University of New York, will also participate and will address the crisis of trust in journalism and its impact on contemporary democracies.
The meeting will conclude with an updated report on the state of press freedom in the Americas, with presentations by Rodrigo Salazar, executive director of the Peruvian Press Council, and Alejandro Giménez, national coordinator of Opinion at Organización Editorial Mexicana. The event will conclude with the approval of conclusions, resolutions and the IAPA’s semiannual reports on the state of press freedom in the region.
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.