TIRANA, June 24 /ATA/ – The COVID-19 pandemic the world is coping with, beyond the multiple setbacks it has posed, proved to be an extraordinary challenge for the news agencies either, according to directors of some news agencies in their opinions for European Alliance of News Agencies, where ATA is a full right member.
“ATA confirmed once more it was the first to provide reliable information. It drew on official information, with the sole purpose of preventing panic in public opinion. This was also the key to ATA’s success,” the Albanian Telegraphic Agency, Director General, Armela Krasniqi, told EANA.
“This pandemic proved that the influence of the media is crucial in shaping public opinion, especially if we consider that in the media market there are, unfortunately, media outlets that speculate and others that produce misleading theories with certain impact on people,” Armela Krasniqi, also the member of EANA steering board, says.
“It is precisely what I said above, I think, as time has shown, the role of news agencies in such situations is irreplaceable. Big crises require us to think big and produce bold solutions.”
The entire amount of information produced by ATA was completely fact-based, obtained through official sources and double checked in detail. The data show that ATA saw a significant increase in the number of visitors to its Albanian, English and French services.
“The future of the media, and that of news agencies in particular lies in its credibility, as the main challenge, but also the most difficult to we need to rise to,” Krasniqi pointed out
“Only in this way, will they win this battle and then feel proud of fulfilling their mission that derives from one of the fundamental human rights, the right to information,” she concludes.
To the President of Dutch News Agency, ANP, “the core value for ANP is the concept of fact.”
“Facts are the building blocks for finding the truth and for a shared basis for social debate. For this reason, journalism should be completely independent of forces that may have an interest in hiding facts, such as the government or commercial organisations,” he added.
“The Covid crisis highlights the importance of the press agency. Facts and expertise have gained in importance because there are so many uncertainties surrounding the virus. ANP has recently produced a lot more than normal and we have noticed that our customers use our content a lot,” Bennis points out.
Meanwhile, the German News Agency, DPA, director general, Peter Kropsch says that News agencies, as other businesses, have to diversify in order to evolve.
“In DPA´s understanding our mission is to supply the German media with a fact based and unbiased general news service. Hence free media that provide fact based information are one cornerstone of a liberal democratic society. So DPA’s work contributes directly to the democratic society that we intend to hand over to our children some day. This is the core statement of the DPA-group’s mission,” Kropsch says.
The President of Spanish News Agency, EFE, Gabriela Canas, says that in a crisis like this, News Agencies have to go the extra mile.
“It is our responsibility to do an extraordinary effort to keep people well informed, particularly in times of pain, confusion, and fake news. In times when everyone needs to know what’s going on with the pandemic, how to cope with it, what their behavior should be, how to fight the COVID 19 while taking care of your own well being and the lives of your loved ones,” Canas says.
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