Contact:
Dr. Markus Schranz
Phone: ++43-1-81140-0
E-Mail: schranz@pressetext.at
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| Dr. Wilfried Seywald - pressetext.europe |
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Vienna (pts015/17.10.2005/15:00) - pressetext.europe (Germany/Austria/Switzerland) and its news agency partners CIA (Czech Republic) and SITA (Slovakia) started a cooperation last week in Vienna, seeking to strengthen the exchange of news between eastern and western Europe. The 'NEDINE Association' - European News Distribution Network - should step up cooperation and the sharing of experience between independent news agencies. The association has taken shape out of a sponsored project within the framework of the EU programme 'eContent,' which expects to be completed in the coming year. http://www.nedine.org
The NEDINE project was presented to representatives of private and independent news agencies from southern and eastern Europe earlier this year in Skopje. There news agencies from the Balkans underlined, that they share a keen interest in strengthening ties with their central and western European counterparts. Discussion and collaboration is now expected to be organised within the framework of the NEDINE association which is open to all news and press agencies. NEDINE celebrates its next baptism of fire at the Media Expo in Munich at the end of October.
The founding assembly of the NEDINE Association in Vienna saw Dr. Wilfried Seywald elected as chairman of the board, whilst Hanna Palistová, the executive director of the Czech news agency CIA, Pavol Mudry, head of the Slovakian News Agency SITA as well as his executive director Dusan Devan, were appointed as deputies. Together with the articles of association, the founding members also finalised the first licence contracts. Five further news agencies should be secured as NEDINE members by the end of 2006.
NEDINE's director Seywald has extensive plans for the new organisation. "In the next two years we wish to approach news agencies principally from the new EU countries in order to secure them as fellow members." The organisation's work will be financed through membership subscription, a percentage of the news exchange business as well as sponsorships from public institutions. "Our work is not meant simply to boost business but has democratic political aims as well," explains Seywald. "Much of what we take for granted today as lived media culture needs still to be grasped in the new EU countries."
Agencies in eastern and southern Europe are in the middle of a process of transformation and want to learn from the Best Practice examples of others. Inadequate economic structures, franchise rights and public means are the reason why many struggle simply to survive, especially in the former Yugoslavia. That said, there are also agencies which have taken the leading market position within the shortest space of time, leaving state-run agencies far behind them. Many have recognised that it is no longer adequate in this day and age simply to produce good journalism. It is the economic profitability of a company which is the prerequisite for its survival.
About NEDINE
NEDINE was founded in April 2004. Project partners from six different European nations dedicated themselves to the realisation of an international system of news distribution. The project is being led by pressetext.austria in cooperation with the department for Distributed Systems at the Technical University of Vienna.
NEDINE'S goal is to offer readers an exactly profiled, personal portfolio made up of news and paid press releases from all over Europe. As well, an affordable and attractive solution for those sending press information across borders should also be made possible. For technical implementation, modern technology and standards will be used, as well as methods of artificial intelligence.
Particular emphasis will be given to making the system multi-lingual. In this way it should be possible for each receiver to configure the news and system in one's own language. In order to make these standards possible, developers from the news agencies are working with experts from the Technical University Vienna. (Department of Distributed Systems) http://www.infosys.tuwien.ac.at , as well as artificial intelligence experts (Technical University, Madrid) http://www.fi.upm.es . The latter is meant to allow the correlation of articles from various sources, and at the same time avert the multiple deliveries of identical news articles.
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