OANA coop. to help break up media monopoly: FAAPA envoy

Tehran, IRNA – Collaborations among members of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) will be of great importance in breaking up media monopolies of certain world powers, an African representative emphasized. Cooperation among news agencies of the OANA will help different countries to assist their own people to get acquainted with other nations and acquire reliable news stories in order to break up the media monopoly, Oumou Barry Sana, the vice president of the Federation of African Press Agencies (FAAPA) told IRNA on the sidelines of the 18th General Assembly of the OANA in Tehran on Tuesday. Sana, who is also the managing director of the Ivory Coast’s state-run news agency, noted that holding meetings among the OANA members will promote coordination and exchange of experiences particularly in terms of modern technologies of information dissemination, including the opportunity of sharing videos among the news agencies. In the post-COVID era, there is a need for expansion of coordination and cooperation among media outlets, she said, adding that the best way to share news stories is to collaborate with other news agencies because this is the most authentic method to be sure that the reports are precise and come from reliable sources. As to news stories on developments in Iran, she said that reports on the Islamic Republic would be reliable and proper to be published only when the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) is considered an official source of the news. IRNA hosts the 18th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), which kicked off in the capital Tehran on October 24. In the two-day assembly, around 60 senior directors, managers, and editors from 35 OANA member states discuss various topics, including the development and strengthening of media cooperation. The general assembly is being held at the highest level of every news agency to discuss infrastructural issues; the upgrade of activities of members; macro-politics; review, reform, and ratification of agreements of the executive board and the technical and news groups; offering suggestions to the executive board and pursuing executive issues; as well as decision-making on new members. The OANA was established on December 22, 1961, in a bid to facilitate information dissemination among regional countries with the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). IRNA along with Fars and Mehr news agencies are the three media agencies in Iran representing the Islamic country in the OANA. IRNA is one of the first members of the organization, and presided over it between 1997 to 2000; then, the Iranian news agency acted as the vice chairman of the regional organization in 2016, and now IRNA is a member of the executive committee of OANA. At the end of the 18th General Assembly of the OANA in Tehran, a communique will be issued by the members on Tuesday. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish