Agreement signed with FNPI confirms commitment to Ibero-American journalism

(Monterrey, September 1, 2009).- CAF President & CEO Enrique García, and Jaime Abello, director general of the Ibero-American New Journalism Foundation (FNPI), signed a collaboration agreement which reaffirms their commitment - signed in 2003 - to quality journalism in Ibero-America. The witnesses of honor were Sergio Ramírez, Alma Guillermoprieto and Jean François Fogel, teachers and members of the FNPI Governing Council.

García said, "to become a prosperous and equitable region, Latin America requires serious, independent and responsible media, which provide high quality information for political and social leaders, business and citizens in general as an important factor for strengthening democracy in the region and contributing to the development and governance of each country."

The agreement, which aims to stimulate professionalism, independence and responsibility in the practice of journalism, was signed during the CAF-FNPI Seventh Annual Seminar on Quality Journalism: Not everything is invented, held in Monterrey from August 31 to September 1 with the support of CEMEX.

Not everything in Latin American journalism is invented

The seminar began with a presentation by the CAF president on the current state of Latin America, which analyzed the political, economic and social impact of the crisis. Jorge Volpi of Mexico and Rafael Arraiz Luca of Venezuela spoke on the state of the media and the crisis from the journalistic point of view. The first session - which took the form of a televised debate - was moderated by the director of El Tiempo newspaper of Colombia, Roberto Pombo.

The recognized Mexican journalist Alma Guillermoprieto interviewed the winner of this year's Lifetime Achievement Award, Miguel Ángel Granados, who shared his experiences in the practice of journalism, his creative and investigative process and reflections on development of articles of analysis and opinion.

The second roundtable on Convergence: opportunities for innovation and quality in traditional media, looked at the importance of integration and convergence (or merger) of editing rooms and the proven models. The first session ended with a review of the current state of Latin American journalism on the Internet, looking at the pioneering experiences of different media in an intense debate which lasted over two hours, and analyzing the challenges of Internet as a vehicle for interactive communication with users and citizens.

The second day of the seminar focused on audiovisual media, particularly radio and television. The final table analyzed the profile of the journalist of the future.

The CAF/FNPI Seventh Seminar on Quality Journalism: Not everything is invented will conclude with the presentation of the book by teacher Miguel Ángel Bastenier, How a newspaper is written. The book will be presented by Germán Rey, FNPI teacher and director of the journalism studies program of Javeriana University.

This is the seventh of a series of seminars on quality journalism held as part of the CAF+FNPI Journalism Encounters program which is now completing six years of activity. The minutes of previous seminars and the reports on the workshops are available at www.nuevoperiodismo.org and www.caf.com.