prijava
SARAJEVO, November 16 (FENA) - Managing Director of the Federal News Agency (FENA), Elmir Huremović in an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) said that FENA is planning to launch live video broadcasting service at the beginning of next year, with the priority being to strengthen its presence on social networks and expand the correspondence network in the country and abroad.
Huremović spoke about future plans, cooperation with news agencies worldwide, and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which is one of the news heavily covered by world’s media. He noted that FENA is the leading news agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina shown by all the relevant indicators.
“We have the largest number of users; we are by far the most cited source in the media arena in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our users are all the leading media outlets in Bosnia and Herzegovina, both the print and online ones,” added Huremović.
FENA publishes about 250 news pieces in the official languages in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in English each day. In addition to general and specialized news services, it also publishes an increasing number of photos and video content.
FENA introduced video news content two years ago, and is steadily and surely becoming an increasingly important part of the agency's news service portfolio. Video news reports, as Huremović points out, are at a very high standard because they are regularly downloaded and redistributed by almost all Internet portals and TV outlets.
He explained that the correspondence network of FENA is spread throughout the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina, because the agency understands its important role in the media sector and publishes news from all over the country on a daily basis.
“In the upcoming period, we plan to open affiliates in all major cities, including the Brčko District, and for the time being, we have our headquarters in Sarajevo and Mostar,” explained Huremović.
He added that, taking into account the importance of a news agency such as FENA for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its presence on the international scene, significant steps forward have been made in this aspect.
Last year, FENA became a fulltime member of the European Alliance of News Agencies - (EANA), an organization that brings together all the leading news agencies in Europe.
“At a time when the EU and NATO integrations are at the top of our country's international agenda, I see membership in this prestigious organization as a great success for all employees of the Agency,” said Huremović.
FENA is also a member of the Association of the Balkan News Agencies - Southeast Europe (ABNA), and thanks to partnerships with over twenty news agencies from around the world, Huremović emphasizes that FENA is the only media outlet in BiH that has direct access to their news services.
FENA was also admitted into full membership of the Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies (AMAN), at the Annual Assembly held in Greece in October this year.
“This is a continuation of the international establishment of FENA as the leading news agency in BiH and another confirmation that FENA has become an important stakeholder on the international media scene.
Membership in renowned associations such as EANA, AMAN and ABNA prove that the importance and role of FENA has been recognized in professional circles at home and abroad, which is a significant recognition, not only for the Agency, but for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country,” stressed Huremović.
He added that the Agency is continuously working towards improving all the services it provides.
“Without continuous keeping up with the world trends in journalism and in general in the media, the survival of news agencies would be brought into question in the long run. At the time when anyone and anytime, from a smartphone can broadcast live streaming and have potential audience around the world, the work of news agencies is becoming more important than ever before,” underlined Huremović.
He believes that, at the time of extreme globalization and the growing influence of popular online social platforms, which are not even authors, but just act as news distributors, thus avoiding the responsibility for the accuracy of the information they distribute, the role of the news agencies becomes more and more important with each new day, since broadcasting of accurate, truthful and timely news, is the only remaining barrier against the increased production and distribution of the so-called fake news, which have become a major threat to society as a whole.
“We focus on the further development of our multimedia services, primarily video content. We plan to introduce the service of broadcasting live video news at the beginning of next year. In addition to this, we have set as our priority to further strengthen our presence on social networks and to expand our correspondence network in the country and abroad,” said Huremović.
Our vision therefore, is to maintain the leadership position in Bosnia and Herzegovina as the leading source of credible news from the country and the world and to remain the primary public media service in the democratic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to become the most powerful media outlet in the region.
Huremović also referred to cooperation with other agencies. He emphasized that they have established good cooperation with dozens of important news agencies worldwide and in that way enabled the news from BiH to become available to the audiences of millions of people all over the world.
“Our continuing commitment is to give special importance in the Agency’s news content to positive occurrences and examples from every aspect of our society. This additionally obliges us to give maximum contribution in representing our country as a desirable destination for potential investors, for starting new ones and support existing businesses, also bearing in mind to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina as an excellent tourist destination,” added Huremović.
The Federal News Agency's cooperation with Anadolu Agency (AA) Huremović described as traditional, adding that it has been going on for many years and that it has been very important for FENA.
“We are grateful for the support that AA has provided to FENA through the exchange of news content, as well as for the numerous trainings organized by AA and in which FENA journalists regularly participated. I am convinced that our cooperation in the future will continue to expand, and my conviction is reflected in the already agreed signing of a new cooperation agreement that should take place at the forthcoming ABNA assembly in Istanbul, hosted by Anadolu Agency,” said Huremović.
He also commented on the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in October inside Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.
In connection to this, he recalled that Bosnia and Herzegovina still suffers from the great consequences of the war. He added that during the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina, the first targets were journalists and freedom of speech.
“Today as well, it is difficult to be a journalist in Bosnia and Herzegovina if you are not serving the policies of different interest groups. Those are not, are often targeted by them. I believe that free media is a guarantee of peace and stability of society,” stressed Huremović.
He added that the public must insist on the full clarification of the Khashoggi case and that it is good that the media, as well as the entire international community, stand united in this position.
(FENA) S. R.
