Balkan news agencies gather in Bulgaria for annual meeting

By Salih Baran

BURGAS, Bulgaria (AA) - The Association of the Balkan News Agencies - Southeast Europe (ABNA-SE) convened an annual meeting in the Bulgarian city of Burgas on Monday.

The 30th General Assembly, which was hosted by the Bulgarian News Agency, was held under the theme of "Together for the right news.”

Yusuf Ozhan, Anadolu Agency’s deputy director-general and editor-in-chief, and Oguz Karakas, the agency’s project management coordinator, participated in the event.

In the meeting, Anadolu Agency was unanimously elected the next term president of the association.

Ozhan, who called the decision an important development, said Anadolu Agency aims to contribute to the Balkan news agencies with its global experience and news reporting knowledge.

"As Anadolu Agency, we will also make efforts to improve the member agencies in terms of journalism under Türkiye’s presidency. This is pleasing for us,” he added.

He also said Anadolu Agency has a wide news network with its correspondents worldwide, especially in the Balkans.

Anadolu Agency, Ozhan said, is both a Balkan and a global news agency.

"We aim to offer the combination of these two to the benefit of the agencies of the member states of the union, and we aim to bring them together to a better point. It was a very productive meeting for us,” he pledged.

Also addressing the meeting, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov said that the most important task of the media is to bring reliable news to the agenda.

Covering reliable news in a complex international environment is of key importance for all individuals and organizations that manage communication and communication channels, he stressed.

Strong and well-informed societies require reliable news sources, he added.

The elements that unite societies in the Balkans are more than the elements that separate them, Pekanov said, adding that when they are together, they will become an “important power.”

Bulgarian Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov also said that power will arise from unity. “We are reconsidering how we present the news here,” he added.

He stressed the significant role of communication in tourism and every field. "If we use fewer adjectives in journalism, they (news) will be more realistic. Because news arouses emotions. Emotions create thoughts. Thoughts create words, words cause actions,” he argued.

The new ABNA-SE logo, which was designed by Anadolu Agency, was officially used for the first time in print and digital media as part of the event.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar in Ankara