July 29, 2026.
July 29, 2026.
Good morning, distinguished colleagues, friends, partners, innovators, and media executives.
On behalf of the Inter American Press Association, it is my great honor to welcome you to SIPConnect 2026. I also extend a warm greeting to everyone joining us from across the Americas and beyond. Your presence reflects a shared conviction: journalism remains essential to democracy, and its future depends on our willingness to innovate without compromising our principles.
I want to thank our sponsors, speakers, and partners—especially Google News Initiative for launching this week's AI Video Lab, an initiative that demonstrates how collaboration can equip newsrooms with practical tools to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.
Artificial intelligence has become the defining technological force shaping our profession. It is transforming how news is gathered, verified, produced, distributed, and monetized. It offers remarkable opportunities to improve efficiency, expand access to information, strengthen investigative reporting, personalize audience experiences, and create new business models. Yet it also raises profound questions about transparency, copyright, misinformation, bias, accountability, and the indispensable role of human editorial judgment.
Technology alone will not determine journalism's future. It will be decided by the choices we make as editors, publishers, and defenders of the free press.
The responsibility of journalists is not simply to generate more content. It is to seek truth, verify facts, provide context, challenge power, and earn the public's trust every day. No algorithm can replace editorial decisiones, professional skepticism, or the courage required to defend freedom of expression. AI must never change the purpose of journalism.
Over the next two days, SIPConnect brings together an extraordinary group of leaders who are already shaping this future.
We are honored to begin with Daniel Hadad, founder and CEO of Infobae, a leading digital news organization. His experience building a digital-first newsroom while constantly embracing innovation offers valuable lessons for every publisher and editor.
Throughout the conference we will hear practical perspectives from Claudia Báez, Juan Pablo Robert of YouTube, Adriana Lacy, Juan Simo, Amy Ross Arguedas of the Reuters Institute, Mauricio Cabrera, Irina Sternik, Lucky Gunasekara, Janine Warner, and many others who are redefining how journalism serves audiences.
I would also like to recognize former IAPA President Matt Sanders, founder of Waypoint. Matt has long championed sustainable journalism and innovative business strategies. His session on trust as a revenue asset reminds us that our greatest competitive advantage is credibility.
You will also hear from distinguished leaders from Reuters, Google, Axios Local, Infobae, La Nación, El Tiempo, ABC Color, Clarín, TV Azteca, Teletica, and many more organizations that are testing ideas, sharing successes, and candidly discussing failures so that we can all learn together.
This conference is intentionally practical. We will discuss AI governance, newsroom implementation, audience engagement, video, product innovation, revenue diversification, sustainability, and the future relationship between technology and journalism. Every session is designed not simply to inspire, but to provide tools that participants can bring back to their own organizations.
Innovation has never been optional. But today, responsible innovation is essential. We must adopt new technologies with curiosity, while ensuring they reinforce—not weaken—the principles that define quality journalism.
The Inter American Press Association has defended press freedom for more than eight decades. That mission does not change because technology changes. If anything, it becomes even more important. Freedom of expression, independent journalism, and public trust remain the foundation upon which every technological advance must stand.
As we begin SIPConnect 2026, I invite each of you to participate actively, ask difficult questions, share your experiences openly, and build new partnerships. The future of journalism will not be written by technology companies alone, nor by media organizations acting in isolation. It will be built through collaboration across our industry.
Thank you for believing in journalism. Thank you for believing in innovation. And above all, thank you for believing that a free, independent, and technologically empowered press remains one of democracy's greatest strengths.
Welcome to SIPConnect 2026, and I wish you an inspiring and productive conference.
