Miami (April 12, 2024) - The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) will next week undertake its semi-annual review of the state of press freedom in the Western Hemisphere, with an emphasis on disinformation and electoral violence, coverage of corruption and organized crime, and stigmatization and judicial harassment of media outlets and journalists.
The meeting, April 17-19, will be held in virtual format. Access is free and the conference will have simultaneous translation in Spanish and English. To register, click here.
The IAPA will also review the results of its high-level missions carried out in the first months of 2024 to Colombia, Guatemala and Ecuador.
IAPA President Roberto Rock, editor of La Silla Rota, Mexico, will open the conference with the topic of journalists and media in exile and the organization's Redacciones + Seguras program.
Also present at the inauguration will be the chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Carlos Jornet, editor of La Voz del Interior of Argentina; Juan Lorenzo Holmann, editor of the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa published in exile and IAPA Executive Director Carlos Lauría.
Below is the complete program of the meeting.
Wednesday, April 17th
10:30 a.m. Opening: Roberto Rock, IAPA President and Carlos Jornet, Chairman of the Freedom of the Press and Information Committee.
11:00 a.m. Journalists and Media in Exile and Safer Newsrooms: Roberto Rock, Carlos Lauría, IAPA Executive Director, and Juan Lorenzo Holmann, Regional VP for Nicaragua, Freedom of the Press and Information Committee.
11:45 a.m. Impact of IAPA missions to Colombia, Guatemala, and Ecuador: Roberto Rock.
12:30 p.m. Recommendations for Haiti: Javier Valdivia, Regional VP for Haiti.
1:00 p.m. Elections, disinformation and violence with regional VPs from the United States, Mexico, El Salvador and Venezuela. Moderator: Carlos Jornet.
2:00 p.m. Coverage of organized crime and corruption with regional VPs from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and Chile. Moderator: Carlos Jornet.
3:00 p.m. Stigmatization, political conflicts and judicial harassment with regional VPs from Cuba, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay and Panama. Moderator: Carlos Jornet.
Thursday, April 18th
10:30 a.m. Alliances between generative AI developers and media companies: Florian Nehm, Senior Public Relations Advisor for Axel Spinger, Germany, Sara Trohanis, Vice President of Revenue for the Americas, Head of Strategic Alliances for The Associated Press, United States, and Mauricio Cabrera, founder Story Baker, Mexico City, Mexico. Moderator: Gabriela Vivanco, La Hora, Quito, Ecuador
11:30 a.m. Lessons, benefits, and challenges of the Online News Act in Canada. Contrast between the attitudes of Google and Meta: Paul Deegan, News Media Canada, and Ryan Adam, Vice President of Government and Public Relations at The Toronto Star. Moderator: Diego Garazzi, La Nación, Argentina..
12:30 p.m. A sustainable and diverse media ecosystem: legislative projects. How much should big tech companies pay for the content they distribute? Danielle Coffey, Executive Director of the News Media Alliance, on expectations for the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, and Haaris Mateen, Houston University, co-author of an essay on how much Google and Meta should pay the media. Moderators: Martín Etchevers, Grupo Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina / Carlos Jornet, La Voz del Interior, Córdoba, Argentina.
1:30 p.m. An overview of the impact of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe: Irene Lanzaco, Director General of the Association of Information Media (AMI), Spain, and Wout van Wijk, Executive Director of News Media Europe. Moderator: Erick Iriarte, member of the Superior Council, La Salle University, Lima, Peru.
Friday, April 19th
10:15 a.m. Presentation of the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI). How the implementation of the provenance standard is evolving on news websites: John Reichertz and Mateo Heras.
11 a.m. Impact and lessons from the Enhanced Fundamentals Lab, a joint initiative between SIP/IAPA and Google: Ezequiel Arbusti, Marktube Group, Mexico Moderator: Alejandra Brambila, News Partner Manager, Spanish-Speaking Latin America, Google, Mexico.
12:15 pm More than just AI. Transparency, algorithm opacity, copyrights, and dominant position will be updated in the Salta Declaration: Martín Etchevers, Asdrúbal Aguiar, Diario Las Américas, Miami, United States, and Carlos Jornet. Moderator: Roberto Rock, La Silla Rota, Mexico City, México.
1:30 pm Responsible for moderation, misinformation, and illegality: Erick Iriarte and Catalina Botero, vice president of Meta Oversight Board. Moderator: Nuria Piera, N Digital, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
2:30 p.m. Initiatives to support media sustainability (Press Forward and International Fund for Public Interest Media or IFPIM): Jim Brady, VP of Journalism of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Pablo Martín Fernández, Regional Manager for Latin America of IFPIM. Moderator: Martha Ramos, Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM), Mexico City, Mexico.
3:45 p.m. Approval of reports, resolutions, and conclusions: Carlos Jornet.
4:30 p.m. Closing remarks by the president of the IAPA: Roberto Rock.
IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and freedom of expression in the Americas. It is comprised of more than 1,300 publications in the Western Hemisphere and is headquartered in Miami, Florida, United States.