Inter American Press Association

From SourceWatch

The Inter American Press Association(IAPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending freedom of expression and of the press throughout the Americas.

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IAPA represents over 1300 newspapers and magazines with a combined hardcopy circulation of 43 million, plus comparable online readership.

The seeds of the IAPA were planted in 1926 when the First Pan American Congress of Journalists, held in Washington, D.C., adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of a permanent inter-American journalists' organization. The resolution lay forgotten until the 1942 meeting in Mexico City when a permanent committee was formed. Initially a predominantly Latin American organization, in 1946 a group of publishers founded an IAPA chapter in the U.S.

The Inter American Press Association regularly and systematically carries out a wide range of activities to serve its mission of defending and advocating for press freedom. The cornerstone is the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information which monitors the progress of press freedom, and its violations, reviewing them twice annually and the organization's biannual meetings. One approved, country-by-country reports and resolutions are widely distributed among government agencies, supragovernmental organizations and civil society.

Four major programs support the IAPA mission:

- The Press Freedom Committee which issues the biannual country-by-country reports;

- The Chapultepec Project, named for the Declaration of Chapultepec which was drafted and adopted in March, 1994 in Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City. The Declaration sets forth 10 principles that define freedom of expression and is based on the premise that "no law or act of government may limit freedom of expression or of the press, whatever the medium." The program organizes hemisphere and national conferences and forums with each branch of government to identify wideranging and/or country-specific obstacles to press freedom and reach a consensus on recommendations to eliminate them. For more information on program activities and publications visit (http://www.declaraciondechapultepec.org)

- The Impunity Project is dedicated to encouraging journalists and the general public to take action to combat impunity in crimes against journalists, violence against journalists and the resulting self-censorship. Tactics include investigation of crimes by its Rapid Response Units, advocacy and awareness campaigns in te public adn private sectors, training to reduce journalists'risk exposure. conferences with judges, legislators, political leaders adn representatives of civil society to combat impunity and publications, including a guide to the hazards faced by journalists in the most troubled countries. (http://www.impunity.com)

- The Press Institute is the educational arm of the IAPA dedicated to raising the standards of professionalism and promote financial soundness as a strategy to insure journalistic independence. It provides 15 training events per year for reporters, managers, editors and executives. It publishes Hora de Cierre with industry updates and Notisip with industry news. (http://www.institutodeprensa.com)

Additional Activities include:

- Annual Awards. As part of its effort to promote the highest standards of journalism, 10 awards for journalistic excellence to newspapers in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The primary prize is the IAPA Grand Prize for Press Freedom.

- The Latin American Council for Journalism Education Accreditation (CLAEP) is an independent organization that supports quality in jorunalism education through a an accreditation program is committed to insuring that future members of the press are effectively trained as allies in the struggle for freedom of the press and freedom of speech as a way of raising journalism standards in the Americas.

- Publications: Online distribution of the official bulletin Nitisip/IAPA News. Seven websites are in operation, including one devoted to the independent press in Cuba.

-Scholarship Fund: Over the past 50 years, more than 400 journalists have benefited from studies at US and Latin American universities.

- Freedom Forum Library: one of teh leading independent reference libraries on journalism in the Americas. Located on the 7th floor of the Jules Dubois Building in Miami, Florida.