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. 