UPDATE Coronavirus: How the health crisis has influenced the activity of European news agencies

The health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic greatly influenced the activity of European news agencies in terms of working procedures, and some expect a drop in revenues, according to the directors of some of these media outlets in interviews published on Monday on the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) website.

Cyprus News Agency (CNA) "has increased the number of its clients thus increasing its revenues and at the same time there was a reduction of running expenses," said CNA Director George Penintaex. He said that all the staff (journalists and secretariat) worked from home, and the tele-work proved to be a success because it increased news production and there were more initiatives from journalists for exclusive stories. "The Cyprus News Agency has increased its role in the local media, with all media to rely on it while the other media have faced serious economic problems," added the CNA Director.

Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) Director General Armela Krasniqi believes that during the pandemic, news agencies showed that they are perhaps the only trustworthy source of information. The national news agency of Albania became the top source of information about the coronavirus in the country, according to its director general, fact proven by a significant increase in the number of visitors to its Albanian, English and French services. The ATA Director General said "this pandemic showed that the influence of the media is crucial in shaping public opinion," adding that "the future of Albanian media will change a lot as a result of this pandemic."

Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Maxim Minchev expects changes to markets and also to states, because of the coronavirus crisis. In his view, news agencies have become even more relevant during the pandemic. He said "over the 123-year-long existence of BTA, excluding the two world wars, this has been the greatest challenge for our agency."

Anadolu Agency President of the Executive Board and General Director Senol Kazanci said "Anadolu Agency (AA) played an important role in combatting the disinformation and stem the spread of misinformation." He believes that this pandemic has accelerated the process of digital transformation in the media industry and announces growth in media production.

During the health crisis, the APA - Austria Press Agency used a three-step-plan depending on priorities. APA President and CEO Clemens Pig explained "level one dealt with the protection of our employees. Except for a minimal emergency service about 500 employees were completely relocated to their home offices within a few days. Since APA is part of Austria's system-relevant 'critical infrastructure', we are prepared for such scenarios." "The fact that APA is not only a professional news provider but also an important technology provider helped us to transfer equipment and processes for working remotely very quickly," he added. The second stage was aimed at maintaining continuous operation and production, with coronavirus information being offered in eleven languages, whereas stage three focused on the economic protection of the news agency.

Azerbaijan News Agency (AZERTAC) Chairman of the Board Aslan Aslanov believes "state-owned media should actively use business tools and diversify their activities. Fluctuations in economic systems require us to be prepared for changes."