Newspapers are far from dead, he said, opening the first WAN-IFRA America Latina conference in Bogota, Colombia, and they contribute to "the fundamental values of open and transparent discussion. A free press is crucial for this discussion."

"It is our obsession to educate, to contribute to raising the quality of life for individuals," he says. "This is what justifies the fight for free journalism. And it isn't a one-day fight. We need more than ever to support the free press in all corners of the world."

Mr Araujo cited some the most serious press freedom problems in the region – in Colombia in the 80s and 90s and now in Mexico, "where we have seen horrible attacks on journalists merely for the act of informing," in Cuba, the most repressive country in the region, and in Argentina, where "the laws recently approved looks to put blocks on the movement of independent media."

No country, he says, "is exempt from having risks."