ANKARA
The Anadolu Agency (AA) opened its office in Brussels, its headquarters in Europe, on October 2, 2013. With an already successful AA Balkans Office, AA is becoming an important and trustable news source in Europe.
AA's Balkans office was launched in March 2012 and has been producing news, photos and videos in three languages – Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian. It has become the most influential news agency in this region of Europe within just two years. With the most qualified journalists and correspondents from the region and objective coverage of events, the work of AA was soon recognized by media in the region.
"AA brought a new format which was previously completely missing in news agencies' journalism: special news and exclusive stories. AA is not the voice of any political parties, institutions or power centers. It always has 'more information' than other agencies. It's definitely the most frequently quoted agency in the region," says Suzana Stambol, Director of BHT news, one of AA's first subscribers in the Balkans.
The Balkans office initially covered eight countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Slovenia, Albania and Macedonia. As of the end of 2013, three more countries- Romania, Bulgaria and Greece- will be part of the AA Balkans network. Currently, AA Balkans has over 50 subscribers in the region. The list of AA Balkans subscribers includes top national and international media outlets, and this number grows day by day.
"Al Jazeera Balkans is using AA news on a daily basis. AA is producing great photos and stories from all parts of the world. AA brought a completely new dimension of news which other news agencies don't have, from marginalized stories from this region to the biggest world stories coming from Syria and Turkey. AA is definitely better than the other news agencies from the region,'' says general manager of Al Jazeera Balkans, Edhem Fočo.
At the beginning, AA Balkans had a difficult task in the region. As a limited number of media outlets had been introduced to AA services, AA Balkans had to build its name and brand.
"Having AA in the region is big news for us because AA is a global news agency and this will help our media industry. As a customer who uses AA services every day, I'm satisfied with the objectivity and authenticity of [AA] content, but also with something new which AA brought to the media in the region- an analytical approach to stories which we didn't see with domestic agencies," says Sedin Ćenan, director of private news channel TV 1.
T portal, the most influential Croatian web portal, is also a subscriber of AA Balkans.
"On behalf of T portal's editorial team, I can conclude that we are very satisfied with the content provided by the agency, particularly with the southeastern Europe regional content. The most interesting segment of the content for us are reporters' unique and original stories of small communities, which usually introduce specific and interesting people and their unique ideas and stories. We are also very satisfied with the technical support provided by the agency," says editor-in-chief of T portal Bojan Stilin.
Kenan Ćerimagić, director of news at TV Hayat, says, "AA is a valuable resource for covering events beyond our usual ways, with an excellent innovative angle for regional and world stories. It allows us to deliver comprehensive reports to our audience.”
Omer Cetres, Director of the AA Balkans Office, notes they have succeeded in attracting the full attention of regional media within a short period. The Anadolu Agency is offering an exceptional service and, at the same time, working diligently to increase the quantity and quality of its products every day, says AA Balkans Marketing Manager Nafisa Latić.
- Media in Europe already has big expectations from Anadolu Agency
With the opening of the main office in Brussels, the number of AA subscribers based in Europe has already begun to increase. The largest media outlets, like Euronews and Detusche Welle, are already subscribed to AA services.
With the opening of its headquarters in Brussels, AA has demonstrated its determination to become one of the top news agencies in Europe.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
