Inter Press Service (IPS) is a global
news agency headquartered in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy. Its main focus is news and analysis about social, political, civil, and economic subjects as it relates to the
Global South
The concept of Global North and Global South (or North–South divide in a global context) is used to describe a grouping of countries along socio-economic and political characteristics. The Global South is a term often used to identify region ...
,
civil society and
globalization.
History
IPS was set up in 1964 as a
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
international journalist
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
. Its founders were the Italian journalist
Roberto Savio and Argentine political scientist
Pablo Piacentini. Initially, the primary objective was to fill the information gap between Europe and Latin America after the political turbulence following the
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cour ...
of 1959.
Later the network expanded to include all continents, from its Latin American base in Costa Rica in 1982.
[ In 1994, IPS changed its legal status to that of a "public-benefit organization for development cooperation".
In 1996, IPS had permanent offices and correspondents in 41 countries, covering 108 nations. Its subscribers included over 600 print media, around 80 news agencies and database services and 65 broadcast media, in addition to over 500 NGOs and other institutions.
]
Approach
IPS's stated aims are to present voices of marginalized
Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...
and vulnerable people and groups, to report from the perspectives of developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed Industrial sector, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is al ...
, and to reflect the views of civil society. The mainstreaming of gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures us ...
in reporting and the assessment of the impacts of globalization are priorities.
IPS may be unique in its concentration on developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed Industrial sector, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is al ...
and the strong relationships with civil society. For this reason, IPS has been termed by some probably the "largest and most credible of all 'alternatives' in the world of news agencies." It is also considered by some as the "first and only independent and professional news agency which provides on daily basis information with a Third World focus and point of view."
Legal status
IPS is registered as an international not-for-profit association. It has "general" NGO consultative status with ECOSOC at the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
, and the OECD status of " ODA eligible international organization".
Organizational structure
Five editorial desks coordinate the project: Montevideo, (regional bureau for Latin America); Berlin-London (for Europe and the Mediterranean); Bangkok (for Asia and the Pacific); New York City (North America and the Caribbean) and Johannesburg (Africa). Most of IPS's journalists and editors are native to the country or region in which they work.
IPS receives funding from various sources: through its subscribers and clients, from multilateral and national development cooperation programmes and from project financing from foundations. It is not, as are most other agencies, financed by a country or newspaper group. The agency's budget is comparatively small for "roughly the sixth-largest international news-gathering organization".
Role
IPS's role is to provide an alternative to sometimes non-existent or unaffordable clipping services.
One study by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
in 1991 found that of the nearly 3,000 clippings with news agency bylines, 13% credited IPS, making it the third-most cited. IPS reports were collected from 138 publications in 39 countries, more countries than any other agency. IPS was particularly strong in Latin America; 72% of clippings from Latin America with news agency bylines came from IPS.
Notable contributors
* Jim Lobe
* Fitzroy Nation
* Mohammed Omer
* Gareth Porter
Gareth Porter (born June 18, 1942) is an American historian, investigative journalist, author and policy analyst specializing in U.S. national security issues. He was an anti-war activist during the Vietnam War and has written about the potenti ...
* Don Gasangwa
See also
*New World Information Order
The New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO, also shortened to New World Information Order, NWIO or just, more generally, information order) is a term coined in a debate over media representations of the developing world in UNESCO in ...
* Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool
*Non-Aligned News Network
The NAM News Network (NNN) is a news agency established by countries of the Non-Aligned Movement to disseminate news which is not prejudicial to the third-world countries.
Organisation and operations
It was established at the initiative of Ma ...
*Languages Dilema
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
*Wikidoc IPS
This is a list of medical wikis, collaboratively-editable websites that focus on medical information. Many of the most popular medical wikis take the form of encyclopedias, with a separate article for each medical term. Some of these websites, such ...
Notes
References
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*
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*{{cite, [{{cite web , url=http://www.wikamusi.com/wikitionary/swahili wipedia , title=Wikidoc IPS , work=]Languages
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
, date=September 22, 2022 , Wandishi= "Habari na Majira" , author=Gasangwa , url-status=yt , archive-url=https://web.racafile/web/s1276
Further reading
* {{Cite book, last=Palmer, first=Michael B., date=2019, title=International News Agencies, publisher=Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
excerpt
* {{cite journal, last=Joye, first=Stiyn, date=2009, url=https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/771511, title=Raising an alternative voice: assessing the role and value of the global alternative news agency inter press service, journal=Javnost-The Public, volume=16, number=3, pages=5–20, doi=10.1080/13183222.2009.11009006, s2cid=146268201
External links
* {{Official website
Official news website
{{South-South
{{News agencies
{{Portal bar, Journalism, Italy
{{Authority control
News agencies based in Italy
International development organizations
Globalization
Alternative journalism organizations