ISTANBUL
A panel discussion on the role of news agencies in international communication took place at the Marmara University (MU) in Istanbul.
The panel took place at the Marmara Media Center formed as part of the MU Communication Faculty and was moderated by Prof. Dr. Atilla Girgin.
Speaking at the panel, Anadolu Agency's (AA) Director of the Istanbul Regional Office, Mustafa Ekici underlined that Turkey's changing vision also opened up a path for news making.
The AA is becoming influential in its natural hinterland, Ekici stressed.
Many things have changed in Turkey in the past decade with a new vision, Ekici noted.
"We noticed after a while that we did not only hear the sound of a gun in Iraq or a bomb in Syria. Turkey has great responsibilities in this region based on its history and common culture. I think that our government's new vision in the past 10 years has opened a new path for us in news making and has placed new responsibilities on us," Ekici said.
"The AA has made crucial progress since Kemal Ozturk became the Executive Board Chairman and Director General. The AA was an institution broadcasting in one and half language...in Turkish and half in English. We are now returning back to our natural geography and cultural basin. In only a year, we began publishing news in five languages appealing to the Balkans, the Arab world and the Caucasus. Our efforts have been welcomed by the media organs of the region," Ekici stressed.
"As part of its centennial vision, the AA plans to publish news in 11 different languages by 2020. And, we aim to be one of the world's top five news agencies by 2020," Ekici also said.
During the panel, Ihlas News Agency (IHA) was represented by the Manager of Visual News, Esra Simsek while Cihan News Agency was represented by Economy Editor, Ramazan Solak.
