Recognition by the Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa (SIP)
El Economista was honored this weekend at the 2025 Excellence in Journalism Awards, in the Digital Transformation category, during the 81st Assembly of the Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa (SIP) held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The recognition was for their artificial intelligence project called LANA.
About El Economista
El Economista is a prominent Mexican newspaper known for its comprehensive coverage of economic news, finance, and business. It has been a trusted source of information for readers since its founding in 1980. The newspaper’s reputation and influence make the SIP award significant, as it highlights their commitment to innovation and digital transformation.
The LANA Project
LANA (Laboratory for Automated News Analysis) is an AI assistant project led by Sandra Romero, Julio Oliva, Felipe Morales Fredes, Sonia Soto, and Gerardo Ramírez. This innovative project uses historical data from El Economista’s archives to provide concise summaries, topic suggestions based on editorial guidelines and SEO, and employs the RAG methodology to operate in a controlled environment, interacting only with provided materials.
Currently in its initial phase, LANA focuses on supporting the Finanzas Personales (Personal Finance) section. Its real-time learning is based on a four-year archive of content from Economía (Economy), Sector Financiero (Financial Sector), and Econohábitat (Eco-Habitat) to offer a broad perspective for journalists’ news agenda coverage.
Other Award Winners
The SIP awards ceremony also recognized several other journalists and media outlets for their exceptional work:
- El Universal (Mexico) received the Award for Current News Coverage for “Corredor Interoceánico: una historia de imposición, despojo y violencia,” which sheds light on the social impacts of a major project in Mexico’s southeast.
- The “Claudio Paolillo” Migration Journalism Award went to the Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network (Trinidad) for “Tricked into Sex Slavery,” exposing the human trafficking issue.
- Colombian cartoonist Raúl Zuleta from El Espectador was awarded the Caricature and Illustration prize for “Discurso de posesión,” inspired by Donald Trump.
- Hugo Alconada Mon from La Nación (Argentina) won the Interview Award.
- Juan Aurelio Arévalo Miró Quesada from El Comercio (Peru) was honored with the Feature (Crónica) Award for “Muerte en la plaza San Martín.”
- UOL (Brazil) received the Photography Award for “Corpo de atleta.”
- El País (Spain) was awarded the Video Award for “El yugo talibán que asfixia a las mujeres en nombre de Alá” (The Taliban Yoke that Suffocates Women in the Name of Allah).
- Collaborative projects like “Projeto Escravizadores” (Brazil) by the Agência Pública de Jornalismo Investigativo and “Campo Tóxico” (United States) by Univision Noticias Digital were recognized for their Data Journalism and In-Depth Reporting, respectively.
- Canadian Geographic (Canada) won for “Our peace is out there,” and Chilean students from the Universidad Diego Portales were honored for “Escape en la oscuridad” (Escape in the Dark).
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the SIP Award for Digital Transformation 2025? It’s an annual recognition by the Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa (SIP) that honors media outlets for their innovative digital transformation projects.
- Who is El Economista? El Economista is a well-known Mexican newspaper that covers economic news, finance, and business. It was founded in 1980 and is recognized for its comprehensive coverage.
- What is the LANA project? LANA (Laboratory for Automated News Analysis) is an AI-driven project by El Economista that uses historical data to provide summaries, topic suggestions, and operates within a controlled environment.
- Who were the other award winners? Various journalists and media outlets received recognition for their exceptional work in different categories, including current news coverage, migration journalism, caricature and illustration, interviews, features, photography, video, collaborative projects, and university journalism.
