1June 2009

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Bolivian President Evo Morales discussed fully and openly the state of freedom of expression and the public’s right to know in his country during a meeting with an IAPA delegation headed by the organization’s president, Enrique Santos Calderón.

At the more than two-hour meeting on May 27 at the presidential palace in La Paz Morales expressed willingness to maintain a dialogue with the hemispheric

President Evo Morales meetswith IAPA delegation in La Paz

organization and gave an assurance that his government will show tolerance and respect for freedom of the press.

He said that his administration is sponsoring a law on access to public information and that it will punish those who attack journalists and news media and those guilty of the murder of two journalists committed in 2001 and 2008 who have not yet been brought to justice. See more at http://www.sipiapa.com/v4/index.php?page=cont_comunicados&seccion=detalles&id=4195&idioma=us

In the photo: President Morales and some of his social communication ministers and officials at their meeting with the IAPA.

• THE REALITY OF THE PRINT NEWSPAPERS IN THE U.S.• FOREIGN MINISTERS PETITIONED REGARDING GLOBOVISION www.sipiapa.org

ALSO IN thIS edItION

1 Successful seminars in Central

America

2 Meeting in Aruba

planning under way

3 New Chapultepec contest

Buenos Aires with its glamour and culture is all set to welcome the IAPA. The venue will be the Buenos Aires Hilton Hotel in Puerto Madero, one of the best locations in the Argentine capital and close to the Casa Rosada (Pink House), headquarters of the federal government.

Panel discussions featuring prominent guest speakers, mavens of culture and the arts, together with a schedule of

Fernández deKirchner to beinvited to theopening ceremony

FRANK, CONSTRUCTIVEDIALOGUE

top-notch seminars will be part of the main program. The Host Committee, chaired by Bartolomé Mitre of La Nación and made up of his colleagues from Argentine newspapers, with the leading support of Clarín, has prepared a program of social events and evening festivities will be the highlight of what promises to be another major gathering of the press of the hemisphere. (See story on Page 4).

The chairman, president and CEO of The McClatchy Company, Gary Pruitt, said he sees a “long and prosperous future” for his newspaper company despite the sharp downturn in its main source of revenue, advertising, which is keeping its share price at under one dollar.

He expressed his optimism during the Sacramento, California-based company’s annual shareholders meeting on May 19.

Pruitt, who heads The Miami Herald and 29 other newspapers, in one year has fired one-third of the company’s labor force, or more than 4,000 employees.

Financial analysts feel that McClatchy’s debt of some $2 trillion could oblige it to seek bankruptcy protection, as other newspaper companies have done so far this year.

Nevertheless, Pruitt said that his objective is to shed the “20th century cost structures” and in this regard he forecast McClatchy will generate nearly $200 million in digital revenue this year, above the $181 million earned in 2008.

McClatchy chief sees bright future

2June 2009

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Issue #449

THE TRUTH ABOUT NEWSPAPERS

In a full-page ad published in the major newspapers of the United States the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), through its president and CEO, John F.

Sturm, refuted the widespread notion about the end of print newspapers, announcing that the new platforms for the publication of multimedia will make these re-emerge stronger than ever. Sturm cited seven myths regarding the tribulations of the print newspapers and at the same time suggested criteria to dispel them.

Myth 1: No one reads newspapers anymore. The reality is that in the United States more than 104 million adults read a print newspaper every day, more than 115 million on Sundays. That’s more people than the 94 million that watch the Super Bowl.

Myth 2: Young people no longer read newspapers. The reality is that 61 per cent of 18-24 year olds and 25-34 year olds read a newspaper in an average week and 65 per cent of them read a newspaper or visited a newspaper website in the past week.

Myth 3: Newspaper readership is tanking. The reality is that average weekday newspaper readership declined a mere 1.8 per cent between 2007 and 2008, and about 7 per cent since its peak in 2002. Compare that to the 10 per cent decline seen in the prime time TV audience in 2007 alone. Meanwhile, newspapers’ Web audience has grown nearly 75 per cent since 2004, to 73 million unique visitors a month.

Myth 4: Many newspapers are going out of business. The reality is that newspapers, as individual businesses, by and large remain profitable enterprises – with operating margins that Wall Street analysts estimate will generally average in the low to mid teens during 2009. While that may be down from historical highs, such margins would be the envy of many other industries today.

Myth 5: Newspaper advertising doesn’t work. The reality is that Google’s own research shows that 56 per cent of consumers researched or purchased products they saw in a newspaper.

Myth 6: There are no creative options in newspapers. The reality is that newspaper advertising options have exploded and now include shape and polybag ads, post-it notes, “we prints,” shingle spadeas, scented ads, taste-it ads, glow-in-the-dark, belly bands and temporary tattoos, as well as event and database marketing, behavioral targeting, e-mail blasts, e-newsletters and more.

Myth 7: If newspapers close, you will still be able to get news from other sources. The reality is that newspapers make a larger investment in journalism than

any other medium. Most of the information you read from “aggregators” and other media originated with newspapers. No amount of effort from local bloggers, non-profit news entities or TV news sources could match the depth and breadth of newspaper-produced content.

NAA President John F. Sturm said that “this is not a portrait of a dying industry. It’s illustrative of transformation.” He added, “Newspapers are reinventing themselves to focus on serving distinct audiences with a variety of products, and delivering those audiences effectively to advertisers across multimedia channels.”

Sturm invited readers to visit the Web site www.newspapermedia.com to learn more about “the power of news print media.” n

A response to the myths surrounding the process of transformation of the newspaper industry in the United States.

John Sturm,president of theNewspaperAssociationof America(NAA)

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June 2009

Press Institute activities showsuccess in Central America

With three seminars in one week in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and Guatemala City, Guatemala, the Press Institute contributed to the training of newspaper journalists and executives, with topics as varied as news coverage of the swine flu pandemic, treatment of the serious problem of youth gangs and the violence besetting society and newsrooms, and the revitalization of the newspaper industry through popular papers in Latin America markets.

The 3rd Meeting of Popular Newspapers and Community Marketing, which was held in San Salvador, El Salvador, June 10-12, attracted more than 50 editors and marketing and circulation executives to this seminar, which had the valuable sponsorship and funding of the newspaper Más, belonging to the Altamirano Editorial Group, which also publishes El Diario de Hoy. Those attending represented popular newspapers in Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezeula.

In Guatemala on June 4-5, amid the world concern caused by the A(H1N1) virus, the Institute, with the

sponsorship of the newspaper Prensa Libre, held a practical training course on risks in the profession when faced with a health crisis, in which the main speaker was Chilean journalist and scientist Sergio Prenafeta.

In San Pedro Sula, with the support of local newspaper La Prensa the Institute on June 8-9 staged a course for more than 40 journalists representing media in various Latin American countries on “Risks of the Press From Organized Crime and Juvenile Delinquency,” in which also dealt with were aspects of professional etchics and the treatment the media give to violent acts.

The Global Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations, meeting recently in Paris, France, called on the member states of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to reaffirm their commitment to the defense and promotion of free speech and press freedom “as a fundamental criterion” in the appointment of the next director general of the world agency.

The members of the Coordinating Committee expressed their warm appreciation of the contributions of the outgoing UNESCO director general, Koichiro Matsuura, in the consolidation of the UNESCO as a force of freedom of expression and of the press, in accordance UNESCO’s constituent

At right, Carlos Echeverri, newspaper consultant and speaker at the Press Institute seminar on popular newspapers held in El Salvador, shares experiences with event participants.

FROM NEWS COVERAGE OF THE SWINE FLU OUTBREAK TO THE PRODUCTION OF POPULAR NEWSPAPERS THREE TRAINING SESSIONS WERE HELD FOR JOURNALISTS IN THE REGION

mandate. This was expressed in a letter sent by the Coordinating Committee to the chairman of UNESCO’s Executive Committee, Benin Ambassador Olablyl Babalola Joseph.

The June 15 note was signed by Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ); Héctor Amengual, director general of the International Association of Broadcasting (IAB); Julio E. Muñoz, executive director of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA); David Dadge, director of the International Press Institute (IPI); Timothy Balding, CEO of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), and Mark Bench, executive director of the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC).

Coordinating Committee addresseschanging leadership of UNESCO

SEMINAR WITH GDA, CAFCHAPULTEPECCONTESTENTRIES INVITED

The FREEDOM OF EXPRESION IN REAL TIME award is a main component of the IAPA Ambassadors program and its Chapultepec Project with the McCormick Foundation. Its aim is to make people aware of the importance of freedom of expression and of the press in modern society. It is hoped that participants in the Americas will review how much or little the principles of the Declaration of Chapultepec (see www.declarationofchapultepec.org) are observed. Each participant will select one or more principles and produce an essay (written or audiovisual) in which progress or setbacks in compliance with the Declaration are shown.

The works can be presented in Spanish or Portuguese. Entries will be received from July 1, 2009 to August 21, 2010. Every three months an adjudication panel will select the best participating work and award a prize consisting of a laptop computer.

Finally, the best work will be chosen from among five finalists, and this will receive the FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN REAL TIME Grand Prize, consisting of an all-expenses-paid trip to the IAPA Midyear Meeting in March 2001 and the possibility of participating in its interesting seminars.

4 Issue #449

June 2009

IAPA calls on foreign ministers regarding GlobovisiónIn the leading print news media of

Honduras and Venezuela the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) published an “Open Letter” to the foreign ministers meeting in the 39th General Assembly of the Organization of American States which wound up on June 3 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The document asked the ministers to arrange for the required mechanisms for

there to be in Venezuela and the rest of the Americas “the demand, without distinction of government or ideology, for due respect for freedom of expression and of the press of all human beings,” with a special reference to the threat by Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez to shut down the independent television channel Globovisión.

Chávez in late May ordered the communication regulatory agency CONATEL, the Supreme Court and the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office to “act” against Globovisión, which is facing three administrative legal proceedings and which he accuses of “conspiring” against his government. Chávez has repeatedly warned of the need to control the news media, especially those that depend on government licenses to be able

to operate, such as radio and television outlets. In May 2007 he gave express orders to shut down the on-air broadcasts of Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV).

The Grupo Diarios Américas (GDA) and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), with the support of the IAPA Press Institute, held a seminar in San José, Costa Rica, May 18-20 on “How To Do Good Journalism in Times of Crisis.” A total of 40 editors and reporters from 10 Latin American countries took part. Above, seen during one of the panel discussions are (l. to r.) José Luis Ramírez, director of the CAF Secretariat and Corporate Communications; Alejandro Urbina, editor of the Costa Rica newspaper La Nación; Tony Pederson, of Southern Methodist University, Texas, and Carlos Vernazza, editor of the magazine of the Association of News Outlets of Argentina (ADEPA).

In Briefdeath. The vice president of Schurz Communications, James Montgomery Schurz, a member of the Host Committee of the IAPA General Assembly in Indianapolis in 2005, died on June 10 in Maryland. He was the brother of IAPA Honorary Lifetime President Scott C. Schurz.

half a century at the helm. The San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina, newspaper Pregón celebrated the 50th anniversary of Annuar Jorge as its editor. He took on the role on June 10, 1959, and has become known as a defender of press freedom, plurality and community development.

Winners. The Miami, Florida, Spanish-language weekly Libre announced the winners of its 2009 7th Annual Lincoln-Martí International Poetry Contest. The first prize went to Manuel Terrín Benavides of Albacete, Spain. In second place was Modesto García of Miami and in third Francisco F. Morales-Maceo of California.

Source of life. The Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC) has set August 31 as the deadline for entries for its PLACA awards. The prize in the Journalism category is intended to encourage journalists and media to disseminate information that fosters public awareness of matters concerning preservation of water resources in the region. Go to http://www.cathalac.org.

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June 2009

Top-notch seminarsset for Buenos AiresAs is customary the president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, is to be invited to address delegates at the official opening ceremony, where in addition IAPA President Enrique Santos Calderón will present his report.

The seminars program is a topical one, with speakers from various newspapers and organizations from around the hemisphere. Friday leads off with a first seminar on “Successful Online Experiences of Mid-Sized Newspapers: New Products.” Discussion will center on some small and medium-sized newspapers that show an enviable dynamism and creativity, for which they have become models to emulate. Topics will include innovative citizen journalism projects and use of virtual social and community networks.

For Saturday morning there are scheduled another two seminars, the first on “Formulas for Success for Sports Papers,” which are notable for their close links with their readers and reflecting on their pages the intense passions of the fans. The second seminar is titled “Popular and Free Papers: How to Gain Circulation.” Many popular papers in Latin America are leaders in circulation, having overtaken their parent newspapers. Cases of the most successful populars – both free and paid for – will be featured.

On Sunday morning the seminar will discuss the new multimedia newsroom, with the impact of “The New Management Skills in the World of the New Media.” To be featured are the findings of a recent study by Northwestern University’s Media Management Center, with a series of management skills that every multimedia organization should acquire or perfect to fully benefit from the emerging technologies. And in the afternoon the topic will be “The Innovations of the International News Agencies to Help Newspapers Gain New Readers.” The big news agencies are themselves adapting to the new technologies.

The seminars program winds up on Tuesday with a presentation on “In-Depth Reporting, Credibility and Prestige,” how the way of doing journalism is changing but the need remains to inform the public in depth and accurately. Examples will be given of reporting styles that have become models and consolidated the credibility and prestige of newspapers of reference.

A view from the street of the lobby at Hotel Hilton in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires.

Upcoming seminarsof the Press Institute

www.institutodeprensa.com

Cost and RevenuePress Institute/MMCBucaramanga, Colombia

August 2-4

The Newspaper in EducationPress InstituteSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic

August 19-21

Investigative Reporting SeminarPress Institute/UNESCOHermosillo, Mexico

August 25-26

Future Sites

200965th General AssemblyHilton Hotel – November 6-10Buenos Aires, Argentina

2010Midyear MeetingWestin Resort Hotel – March 19-22Aruba

66th General AssemblySheraton Hotel – October 15-19Santiago, Chile

2011Midyear MeetingSan Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina – April 6-8San Diego, California

67th General AssemblyDates and hotel T.B.A.San Juan, Puerto Rico

2012Midyear MeetingDates and hotel T.B.A.

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June 2009

Planning for MidyearMeeting in Aruba gets under way

An inspection visit to the Caribbean island of Aruba was made by IAPA Executive Director Julio E. Muñoz as the date neared for the holding of the Association’s Midyear Meeting there in March 2010.

Muñoz visited all the IAPA members in Aruba, in the company of Margaret Wever of The News of Oranjestad, the capital city – the longest-serving member newspaper of the IAPA in Aruba.

The visit served to get under way the composition of the meeting’s Host Committee and the task of selecting the conference hotel.

The editor of the newspaper AWE Mainta, Victor Winklaar, offered his support for the meeting.

Aruba is an autonomous region of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in the Lesser Antilles, located 17 miles from Falcón state in Venezuela.

Just 21 miles long and with a population of 110,000 the island occupies 18th place among the world’s most densely populated nations.

Tourism and related activities make Aruba one of the most prosperous places in the Caribbean. With an average annual per capita income of $24,000 it is number 32 in the world.

Margaret Wever, The News, with IAPA Executive Direc-tor Julio E. Muñoz and (r.) the editor of AWE Mainta, Victor Winklaar.

Judith Miller, la periodista que sufrió varias semanas en la cárcel por no revelar sus fuentes en el caso de la espía de la CIA Valerie Plame, renunció al diario The New York Times en el que laboró por 28 años.

La salida de Miller ocurre después de que sus compañeros y directivos del periódico la criticasen por la cobertura de la guerra en Irak y su actuación en el “caso Plame”.

Valerie Plame era una espía de la Agencia Central de Inteligencia (CIA) hasta julio de 2003, cuando su nombre salió publicado en la prensa. La filtración de la identidad

" 71 años informando con honestidad e imparcialidad "

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7 Issue #449

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