A very happy first birthday to ANA
ANA launched a year ago, as a replacement for Sapa which was closing, but with grander intentions.
|||Cape Town - It is a very happy first birthday to the African News Agency (ANA). ANA launched a year ago on Tuesday, as a replacement for the South African Press Association (Sapa) which was closing, but with grander intentions.
Of great significance was the fact that ANA was designed from the very beginning to be a provider of continental news by and for Africans.
While Africa has always been serviced by major international news agencies like the BBC, Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP), and others, this was a bold new step for African media.
At the time of launch, ANA CEO Chris Borain said: “We are very excited to be embarking on the first step of providing African news by and for Africans.”
That first step involved a small core team of senior journalists, but one which has quickly grown into a fully-fledged continental news service, with its core operations centred in South Africa.
ANA, designed to be a syndicated multi-media content service striving to provide credible and reliable coverage of politics, economics, business, sport and lifestyle stories from the African continent, now covers virtually the whole of South Africa.
ANA furthermore has a network of permanent correspondents and freelance writers in more than 30 African countries, with the ability to respond in real time to unfolding news events.
In addition to its own-generated content which includes text, photographs and now also video, ANA also provides its growing subscriber base with syndicated international text and picture content from partners like the long-established Associated Press (AP), China's Xinhua news agency, the German Press Association (DPA), Rossiya Segodnya of Russia and the ECB from Brazil.
It has further secured syndication agreements with African service providers like the News Agency of Nigeria, APANews, PANAPress and the Centre for African Journalists. All content “ANA-generated and that of syndicate partners” is distributed via an African-designed and developed digital technology platform, Baobab Suite.
Following the launch of ANA in early 2015, there have been several further entrants to the African media landscape as the rich and diverse potential of the continent continues to attract the attention of the rest of the world, however, ANA is perfectly positioned to tell the true stories of Africa.
“It has been some ride, this first year, but we have taken this dream, and much like Africa herself, have defied the odds and the naysayers, to make it grow and flourish,” Borain said.
“Africa's potential is limitless and ANA will be there to capture the moments that matter,” he said. “ANA is an integral part of Africa rising.”
African News Agency