news agency
A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency ma ...
headquartered in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, Italy. Its main focus is news and analysis about social, political, civil, and economic subjects as they relate to the
Global South
Global North and Global South are terms that denote a method of grouping countries based on their defining characteristics with regard to socioeconomics and politics. According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global South broadly com ...
,
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.globalization
Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
.
History
IPS was set up in 1964 as a
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
international journalist
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...
. 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 () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...
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. In the EU context, the Euro ...
and vulnerable people and groups, to report from the perspectives of
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...
, and to reflect the views of
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.gender
Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...
in reporting and the assessment of the impacts of
globalization
Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
are priorities.
IPS may be unique in its concentration on
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...
and its strong relationships with
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, and the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
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 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) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...
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.
Mario Lubetkin
Mario Israel Lubetkin Tulbovic (born 1958) is a Uruguayan journalist, specializing in sustainable development. He is currently serving as Minister of Foreign Relations in the government of Yamandú Orsi.
Career
As a teenager, Lubetkin joined ...