Five takeaways from Claudio Paolillo, Press Freedom and Information Committee, Inter-American Press Association

Here are five takeaways from the presentation of Claudio Paolillo, Chairman, Press Freedom and Information Committee, Inter-American Press Association, Uruguay, during a session titled “National security, liberty, regulation and the role of a free press in the digital age” on the first day of WAN-IFRA’s World Newspaper Congress / World Editors Forum in Torino, Italy.

by WAN-IFRA Staff executivenews@wan-ifra.org | June 9, 2014

We tend to link terms like secret service and spies with the Cold War, but the reality is that spies go back to at least the ancient Romans and before.
New technological advances means that never before has the Big Brother envisioned by George Orwell has been so tangible.
We are spending a lot of time to trying to figure out the next business model, but we don’t spend much time thinking about the reason for the press, and press freedom, which is under an enormous threat.
Cuba has promised greater online access, but the average Cuban does not earn enough in a month to pay for a 3-hour Internet connection at a hotel for tourists.
In my view, Paolillo said, it is safe to say if (U.S. President Richard) Nixon’s administration had the power that Obama’s has now, the famous Watergate investigation would never have taken place.

WAN-IFRA Staff

executivenews@wan-ifra.org