'Sun-Sentinel' Editor Earl Maucker Takes Over as IAPA President

By: Mark Fitzgerald As the new president of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editor Earl Maucker is vowing to do something that probably as close to impossible as it gets: convene the press freedom group in Fidel Castro's Cuba.

"They have made it clear they have little or no interest in having us meet in Cuba," Maucker said of the Communist authorities. "There is no breakthrough now, nor can we expect one, but we will keep trying."

In remarks as IAPA's annual General Assembly in Miami was concluding Tuesday, Maucker noted that he has unique access to Cuban authorities because his Tribune Co. newspaper, and the flagship Chicago Tribune are the only two newspapers allowed to maintain a bureau on the island.

"It's our responsibility to foster democratic values, even when it doesn't seem possible," Maucker said.

During Maucker's one-year presidency, IAPA will join in an unprecedented partnership with the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) to conduct a joint "study mission" somewhere in the hemisphere. These missions typically go to places where the press is threatened by violence or legislation, and involves talking to journalists and other news media people as well as to government officials.

The involvement of U.S. editors may also open them to membership in IAPA. Maucker said recruiting more newspapers and news organizations from the U.S. and Canada will be another priority of his presidency. Delegations will also travel to Brazil to recruit, he added.

Study missions changed his own views of IAPA, Maucker said. "My initial purpose was to learn more about Latin America, and thus learn more about South Florida," he told IAPA. But when he saw firsthand the difficult conditions under which many Latin American journalists work and the encouragement and help they got from IAPA, Maucker said he wanted to do all he could to advance freedom of the press in the hemisphere.

"IAPA has been a critical force in saving the lives of journalists and their families," he added.