ANKARA
Anadolu Agency’s coverage of Turkey’s 25th parliamentary elections Sunday has proven the fact that it is the most preferred news provider in the country.
Data from the AA Elections 2015 project was used in election broadcasts of televisions, newspapers, radio stations and websites from all over the country and abroad. It was also closely followed by the country's political parties and international media.
Once the ban was lifted by Turkey's Supreme Election Board (YSK), Anadolu Agency swiftly and reliably broadcast the results, percentages of votes, turnout – both for polls at home and abroad.
The agency's professional team served from all over the country's 81 provinces and 923 districts, and quickly sent the latest information to its subscribers, often as Breaking News.
Advance preparations
Anadolu Agency had made preparations in advance of the June 7 election.
In anticipation of the polls broadcast, Anadolu Agency had made sure that there were sufficient numbers of human resources, including journalists and data providers in place along with its special software, technical and personnel infrastructure on Election Day.
The Anadolu Agency team devised a special software program to efficiently transfer data to subscribed media outlets.
Results, accompanied by related graphics, were instantly transmitted to subscribers via the agency's "secim.aa.com.tr" official website link.
The election website operated in three languages: Turkish, English and Arabic.
A total of 6,000 photographs with Turkish, English and Arabic subtitles along with 4,500 news stories were published from all provinces, districts and neighborhoods of Turkey on Election Day.
The victorious candidates were announced province by province, along with photos and detailed profiles via a specific databank.
As soon as the election broadcast started, the election website "secim.aa.com.tr" saw an influx of visitors, with the number of visitors swelling up by 39 times; the figures increased from some 80,000 to 3.14 million. Page views also peaked to 7.29 million.
Broadcast in multiple languages
Throughout Election Day, the agency broadcast news about the polls and results simultaneously in Turkish, English, Arabic, French, Kurdish, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), Russian, Albanian and Persian languages.
Anadolu Agency’s election data was also instantly screened at special press centers established in Ankara, Istanbul, Berlin and New York, which were jointly managed by the agency and Turkey's Directorate General of Press and Information for journalists to efficiently keep track of live results from Sunday's election.
Election results were also transmitted to mobile phones of subscribers of Avea ve Vodafone, the GSM companies with which the agency had signed an agreement.
Anadolu Agency also provided election results for free to local newspapers in Turkey. A total of 91 percent of Turkish national dailies imported the agency's election data, while 82 percent used its data as the only source.
Among national television channels, 87 percent took advantage of Anadolu Agency data and 70 of them used the data as the only source; some 37 local televisions made their election broadcast by subscribing to the Anadolu Agency Election TV software.
Also, 20 large scale websites used Anadolu Agency data.
- Anadolu Agency coverage in past elections
This is not the first time that Anadolu Agency’s election broadcast has received such massive response. The agency has already proven itself when it closely followed and reported on Turkey's local and presidential elections in 2014.
Some 85 percent of media institutions in Turkey had subscribed to Anadolu Agency's special Local Elections 2014 broadcast. It was also closely followed then by the country's political parties and international media.
Official results announced by the YSK election board had also confirmed the authenticity of the results broadcast by the agency.
The Anadolu Agency has 1,450 subscriptions in 45 countries and publishes news in multiple languages. The agency currently broadcasts in Turkish, English, Arabic, French, Kurdish, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), Russian and Albanian.
Anadolu Agency aims to become one of the world's most influential agencies by 2020, as part of its centennial vision.
