AIPS embarks on pivotal and challenging year

AIPS Executive Committee Members, Young Reporters and AIPS staff in Baku, Azerbaijan where an Executive Committee meeting and AIPS Young Reporters Programme were hosted by the Azerbaijan Ministry of Youth and Sport and the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan. Photo/AIPS  

By Gianni Merlo, AIPS President

2012 was an important year, albeit one of transition. Our profession has not yet found the correct equilibrium after the professional tsunami triggered by the advent of the Internet. In the most recent days the historic monthly news magazine Newsweek has abandoned its printed version to survive online only. 

The challenge – The Internet and its ramifications on our profession is still a relatively new challenge and an experiment for us. It is difficult to predict what will be the response of the public – a public that is increasingly distracted and always craves for something that captures the attention and imagination – something that has what they say is charisma or appeal. But first of all the new life of Newsweek will be one to closely follow and see if there is a true revolution in the minds of its journalists and whether or not the public is able to wait a week to get news, insights and comments. And how will the interaction be? Most journalists will be able to reinvent themselves in the new media but this will require a kind of Cultural Revolution for the colleagues whom I shall describe as “more mature”.  It is impossible to give an answer at this time, but by the end of the year we will certainly have other useful indications.

The commitment - One thing is certain: the internet requires us to work more and to study more because only quality products will have a future and those that are cheap and substandard will live on in the shadows.  We all need to get our heads around the fact that computer does not allow us to have more leisure time; rather we have become enslaved in a certain sense.

The risk – It seems that anyone who currently holds any power in the world is seen as taming the information made available on the Internet. I believe it is vital that as much information as possible be made available to the public sites – rich and elegant information in order to appeal directly to the consumers with quicker and more satisfying access to the sources, to data, results, and to the stories. This could however also hide a hidden desire to tame and gently manipulate public opinion in a way that little by little could affect independent journalistic investigations – the true salt of our democracy. For this we need to improve the cultural preparation and education of the younger generation of journalists because the future of our profession and the quality of free information are at stake. We must teach our younger generation to produce quality, interesting and dynamic information. In our world of sport nothing is happening other than what plays out in daily social life and we cannot delude ourselves that we are living on a happy island.

The opprtunities – During the past three years, by way of the AIPS Young Reporters’ Program, our association has created new cultural and educational opportunities for our younger colleagues. Both in Shenzhen, China, during the Summer Universiade of 2011 with the collaboration of the Shenzhen 2011 Organising Committee and FISU, and in Baku, Azerbaijan, during the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Azerbaijan National Olympic Committee, our schools have experienced great success. This year will follow with new initiatives. Our resolve and commitment to the fight against corruption will continue and we will stand firm to combat the insidious match-fixing and crime which can inflict a mortal blow to the entire sports world.

Action - Together with WLA (World Lotteries Association) and the EL (European Lotteries) we have created a series of workshops to focus on the current danger, and to educate our colleagues on the ramifications of match-fixing and illegal betting.  In October we organized a seminar and debate at the headquarters of La Gazzetta dello Sport in Milan. In 2013 we will follow up with two other seminars, one in Vienna, and another in Paris with the collaboration of L’Equipe.

2013 will be a year of great commitment; one that we must face together as a team because our future is at stake.