Miami (March 18, 2025) - Press freedom in the Americas faces increasing pressure against a backdrop of authoritarian advances, from threats to journalism in the United States under President Donald Trump to challenges in Argentina under the government of Javier Milei. These and other crucial issues will be at the center of the Mid-Year Meeting of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), which will be held in a virtual format on April 24-25.
The IAPA invites the public to participate in this virtual meeting, which will feature a conversation with Julie Pace, executive director and senior vice president of The Associated Press (AP) news agency, which has faced restrictions on news coverage by the White House.
The troubling situation of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, recently returned to prison, and the hundreds of journalists in Latin America who have been forced into exile or silence, will also be discussed.
The sessions will be led by José Roberto Dutriz, IAPA president, CEO and general director of La Prensa Gráfica (El Salvador) and Carlos Jornet, second vice president, chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information and director of La Voz del Interior (Argentina).
The program will also address the impact of artificial intelligence on journalism and its role in protecting the fundamental principles of the profession. Experts from the United States and Latin America will discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by this technology. Among the speakers, Catalina Botero, former rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, will speak on the need to create a social network of public interest. In addition, the former president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, will offer a vision on the future of democracy in the region.
See the preliminary program here.
Since 2020, the IAPA Mid-Year Meeting has been held in a virtual format, bringing together officers, members, editors and journalists from throughout the hemisphere. In addition, IAPA already has two key meetings scheduled for this year:
• SIPConnect 2025 | July 16-18 in Miami, USA, an event dedicated to the digital transformation of the media.
• 81st General Assembly | October 16-19 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and freedom of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 publications in the Western Hemisphere and is headquartered in Miami, Florida, United States.
