AzerTAc: a media bridge between East and West

Aslan Aslanov, Director General of AzerTAc

95 years have passed since the first AzerTAc message was spread. It was established on March 1, 1920. Over the last 95 years much water has flowed under the bridge: socio-economic formations have changed, as well as the political map of the world. During 70 years of this period we had to live in the empire called the Soviet Union. We have seen a lot: repressions, war, political and economic cataclysms...And the years of independence -everybody's cherished dream, the path from bondage to freedom, from darkness to light, from backwardness to progress, incredible leaps... These black and bright, sorrowful and joyful days have also happened with AzerTAc, which is the first news agency of Azerbaijan.

The agency celebrates its 95-year anniversary at a time when the system of values is being updated in a globalizing world, fundamental transformations are happening in all spheres of life, stereotypes are changing, new information technologies are being created, there has been a boom in social media. And I will try to cast a glance at AzerTAc's historical path, its achievements, its place and role in the global information space.

From telegram and telex to the computer era

The abbreviation AzerTAc arose from the historical name of the agency - Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agence (the French word "agence" translates as "agency"). The word "Telegraph" in the name of the agency probably attracts the attention of many people, and sometimes gives rise to certain misunderstandings. The fact is that the telegraph was the only tool of communication and dissemination at that period. The older generation remembers the days when AzerTAc messages were sent by teletype. In those years, the spread of messages was a complex issue, not only abroad but also in remote regions of the country. But now we live in a digital age, and nobody can be surprised by instantaneous receiving and disseminating of information. We shall return to this point later. And now, I guess, there is a need for a brief journey into the history.

The legacy of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

The most objective assessment of this service was given by our national leader Heydar Aliyev: "Since its inception, AzerTAc has become the herald of our people's dream of freedom." The term "complex and at the same time glorious way", which I chose, describing the history of the agency, is not rhetoric. Over the past 95 years, the name of the agency has changed seven times, which is a testament to how difficult the distance was.

AzerTAc during the period of the Democratic Republic acted independently for just two months, and for 70 years in the USSR acted as a branch of TASS, it has covered processes, marching in Azerbaijan in the years of collectivization, industrialization, World War II, it has created a chronicle of the era. In the postwar years, the main theme of the agency's materials has become the creative work in the country's economic, social, political and cultural life. The new information environment's development and enrichment of our national press with new traditions started in the 70s of the last century in Azerbaijan.

With full confidence I can say that the current level of AzerTAc's achievements, its access to the global information space, is directly connected with the name of our great leader Heydar Aliyev. The arrival of Heydar Aliyev to the political leadership in Azerbaijan in 1969, being the beginning of the turning point in the life of the republic, has also opened a new page in the media. AzerTAc, due to the high attention and care of the great leader, was equipped with modern technology of that time, it took a leading position among the news agencies of the former Soviet republics in the richness of its material and technical base, as well as high creativity.

After some time, when Azerbaijan had regained its independence, on December 18, 1992 the historical name of the agency was restored, it became known as the Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency - AzerTAc. However, the leadership of Azerbaijan was incompetent, incapable of adequately assessing the role of information in society and the state, didn't think about organizing the agency up to date. AzerTAc, like the whole country, was left to the mercy of fate. Fortunately, it hasn't last long. Thanks to the wisdom and foresight, rich political and governmental experience of the national leader Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan has retained its independence, overcoming all the difficulties and obstacles on the path of development, has occupied a worthy place in the global community. AzerTAc's development started a whole new stage during this period. AzerTAc has received the status of a state agency by decree of our great leader, for the first time in history its correspondent centers in foreign countries were opened. Since 1995, six decrees and orders for performance improvement, modernization of the material and technical base of AzerTAc were signed. Now it has its own correspondents in 21 countries. New horizons have opened up for the agency. Favorable conditions for its release in the global information space has appeared.

AzerTAc is the only source of information in the region spreading messages in 7 languages and video news in 5 languages. Today Azerbaijan is known in the modern system of international relations as a reliable strategic partner, a strong and influential actor. Thanks to President Ilham Aliyev's independent and balanced foreign policy, Azerbaijan makes a fundamental contribution to the geopolitical, geo-economic and geo-strategic security of the region in the context of bilateral and multilateral relations.

Azerbaijan has transformed from a regional actor to a global partner, and is rapidly moving forward in the hierarchy of influence and power in world politics. From this perspective, AzerTAc sees its priorities in the spread of Azerbaijani realities to the broader geography and operational coverage of the world's major events.

Today AzerTAc has all the innovative technological equipment necessary for productive activity. The most modern server system has been installed at the agency, which allows it to archive lots of information, photos and videos and to manage a rapidly growing information flow at a high level. Upgraded UPS-installation ensures uninterrupted operation of the local network even during a power outage. Recently we created a couple of extensions to our broadcast: a completely new website for AzerTAc, known for both its functionality and ergonomic design, is now offering information in 7 languages; we also presented a children's video site and knowledge portal with a remarkable level of information presentation. Prominent among the projects that were carried out on the eve of the anniversary was a Chinese version of the Agency's website, which aroused great interest in the Peoples Republic of China. As evidence of this interest, a presentation of the website and a photo exhibition "A Look at Azerbaijani-Chinese relations with the camera lens of AzerTAc" was organised in Beijing with the organizational support of the Chinese Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the assistance of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in China. The exhibition introduces approximately one hundred photos from the archives of AzerTAc. There are lots of significant events recorded in those photos, like visits by Heydar Aliyev and President Ilham Aliyev to China, the meeting of the delegation in Baku and some other aspects of bilateral relations.

The number of regular users of the agency's page on Facebook in the Azerbaijani language is close to one hundred and ten thousand, and the scope is in the range of 20-50 million people. Our YouTube profile has about one million six hundred thousand video views reported. According to statistics from the US market research firm SocialBakers, AzerTAc's page on Facebook in Azeri ranks in the top five among the fastest-growing media profiles and pages and first among news agencies. Profiles on Twitter and YouTube are constantly ranked in the top five in the category 'Media' for Azerbaijan. Our broadcasts in the English and Russian languages are distributed on individual YouTube profiles, and information and video news in Azerbaijani, English and Russian are on our Twitter page. AzerTAc allows people to easily get their news in Russian, English, French, German, Arabic and Chinese, as well as photos and videos through Google, Bing, Yandex, Mail.ru and Yahoo.

What is the secret of our successes and high growth dynamics? I would say that, first of all, it is a modern and innovative approach to the dissemination of news. Modern times have their own requirements and challenges and we strive to feel the pulse of the era and practice the maximum use of modern information technology. This is why the agency created a new structure - the department for social networks and information resources. While constantly analyzing the results, we are also thinking about expanding our audience.

The multimedia and video news genre takes a special place in our development plan. In particular, I am pleased to note that AzerTAc is the only source of news in the region to disseminate information in 7 languages and videos in 5 languages. It is no coincidence that our reports have already spread to the TV channels of the country. Video news about the "US-Azerbaijan: Looking to the future" forum and the presentation of the play 'Arshin Mal Alan' were aired on all television channels. The "Student Success" show is briadcast every Saturday in 'Yeni Gun' on the OTV channel and it has gained a wide audience in a short time. Our video projects 'Travelling in Azerbaijan', 'Hour After', 'Azerbaijan Sport', 'Our Sites', 'Art and the Master', 'A Person', 'Hero of the Day without a Tie', 'Fashion', and 'Tasty' became known in a short time as well.

AzerTAc carries out joint projects with diaspora organizations to raise awareness of the culture and historical realities of Azerbaijan. A project of this cycle was implemented in Copenhagen: The Day of Azerbaijani Culture, which was organised with the help of the 'Vatan' society, gathered a wide audience.

 

AzerTAc in world information spaceOur great leader Heydar Aliyev knew what major influence information had. That is why he was constantly saying that Azerbaijani realities should be spread all over the world. He complained: we should not only talk for ourselves, come out with your information in the world space, popularize Azerbaijan, deliver what is happening in our country, what we are to the international society.AzerTAc stresses on the goals, recommendations and principles set by our great leader. That is what makes us successful. Today, our country has enough interesting news worth spreading worldwide. Under the leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, we are confidently moving along the path of democratic state construction, to become one of the top socio-economic developers of the world. Bringing news reflecting this rise to the world information space is naturally a priority for the country. The path lies through international cooperation, publication of news in as many languages and as widely as possible.AzerTAc that has been exchanging information with almost 130 countries of the world made 103,534 news items and 8,331 video news on different topics in Azerbaijani, Russian, English, German, French, Arabic and Chinese the previous year.However tedious the figures may look, only statistics may truly reflect an agency’s progress in its field. For example, 3,565 news, 669 videos and 1,631 photos of AzerTAc in 2014 were posed on the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), which unites 44 information agencies of 35 countries, 413 news items on the Black Sea Association of National News Agencies (BSANNA), 2,706 news items and 304 photos on the Alliance of National Information Agencies of CIS Countries, an average of 8-10 news items daily on the International Islamic News Agency (IINA), which unites over 40 news agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Chinese news agency Xinhua. In general, last year, electronic resources and regional structures placed 7,203 news items, 1,935 photos and 669 video materials of AzerTAc.There are other efficient and effective means of spreading the truth about Azerbaijan in the world information space. Would it be fair if foreign journalists visited our country and write what they see with their own eyes?! I share such an opinion that in order to love Azerbaijan, one needs to see and recognize it. In our practice, there have been many cases leading to positive results. I can give an example. AzerTAc has recently organized a visit of Lim Dong Kun, a journalist of Korea’s Yonhap news agency, to Azerbaijan, doing providing him with all he needs to get to know our country. The Korean reporter returned with a bright experience, with quite full material. Notice the topic he chose: “Azerbaijan – the rich land chosen by Prometheus.” The article is full of love towards our country and filled with interesting photo images was published in the December release of the Imazine magazine of Yonhap last year. In the reporter’s words, it got numerous responses associated with the article.Our foreign reporters are another means in this field. Simultaneously with making news in countries they stay in, they regularly present materials on Azerbaijan at local mass media. In 2014, all respectable media of the U.S., Europe and Asia published 181 materials made by our reporters, achievements of Azerbaijan were delivered to a wide range of viewers.Moreover, analytical articles of the author of this article under the headlines “Confidence and decisiveness demonstrated by President Ilham Aliyev at the Praga Summit, - indicators of growing authority of the Azerbaijani state on the international arena”, “Reliable address of international contacts”, “Transformation from traditional media to the worldwide information network is inevitable” have been published on United States’ Eurasia Hoy and Foreign Policy News, Germany’s Eurasianews.de, Austria’s Society magazine, Turkey’s Gundem, Dengue, Kars Haber, Halg.AzerTAc forms media dialogue of East and WestAzerbaijan is located on an important geopolitical spot. It can be called a bridge between the East and the West, a gateway opening for both continents. It is indeed a unique moment allowing AzerTAc to play the role of a bridge, improving dialogue between media structures of the East and the West. I would like to bring in several examples to demonstrate how our agency values the opportunity.Together with the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), AzerTAc is a member of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA), the International Islamic News Agency (IINA). It is also a co-founder of the Association of National Information Agencies of CIS Member-States, the Association of News Agencies of Turkic Speaking Countries (TKA), the Black Sea Association of National News Agencies (BSANNA). At the OANA General Assembly in Moscow, the AzerTAc director general was elected as a member of the bureau and vice president of the structure for the third time.Being so widely and actively represented at international media structures, spreading the truth about Azerbaijan on such wide territory, allows us to create a platform for dialogue between information agencies of the East and the West. The basis of this platform was founded in September 2008, when AzerTAc was hosting the 30th session of the OANA Executive Committee, called “Information for all in the globalizing world.” At the session, very influential figures of the world information policy of Asia and Europe were present for the first time in our contemporary history. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev welcomed the guests personally, making the event more significant.AzerTAc plans to enrich the tradition even more in 2016-2019, while chairing the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies and the World Congress of News Agencies. In 2016, AzerTAc will host both the 16th OANA General Assembly and the 5th World Congress of News Agencies. The two are considered the most authoritative media events of the international society. Frankly speaking, many wanted to chair the influential structures. That is why I think there is no need in detailed clarification of the decision made in an atmosphere of the most serious choice-making and competition. I just want to mention that, unlike other international media structures, chairmanship in the OANAA and the World Congress of News Agencies is picked secretly, not via rotation, one vote may sometimes be decisive. And it is unsurprising because the structures unite up to 150 influential mass media sources.Last year, AzerTAc organized a session of the Council of the World Congress of News Agencies. Preparation for the 5th World Congress of News Agencies, which AzerTAc will host in 2016, was discussed at the session. The attendees speak for themselves, the chairman of the World Congress of News Agencies and the president of the Saudi Press Agency, the president of the OANA and the director general of TASS Russia, the general executive director of the Austria Press Agency, the secretary general of the World Congress of News Agencies, the secretary general of the Federation of Arab News Agencies, the president of the EANA, the general executive director of PressAssociation of the UK, the director general of the Anadolu Agency of Turkey, the chairman of the Association of Information Agencies of Latin America and others. I want to report that the next session of the Council of the Congress will be held on March 1-2, simultaneously with the events dedicated to the 95th anniversary of AzerTAc.Another platform for dialogue is the Baku International Humanitarian Forums, we are trying to make maximum use of the opportunity. The forums are attended by notable political figures, scientists, ex-heads of states, heads of influential world media sources. AzerTAc organizes round-table conferences dedicated to topical media problems within the framework of the Baku forums. It also serves as our contribution to development of the media dialogue between the East and the West. Leading media specialists from different continents exchange opinions about modern tendencies of development and media brands at the round-table conferences, comparing their opinions. As an example, I would like to mention the topic introduced for discussions at the latest forum: “Media Transformation in the Digital Age: New Development Trends.” Attendees of the round-table conference cover a very wide range of geography: ex-president of the EANA, heads of TASS Russia, APA of Austria, BERNAMA of Malaysia, VNA of Vietnam, WAFA of Palestine, WAM of the United Arab Emirates, Kazinform of Kazakhstan, AGI of Italy, Tanjug of Serbia and other media structures, specialists and experts shared opinions about actual media problems in the globalizing world at panel sessions.I would like to conclude speculations about the topic by one more factor. The number of agreements AzerTAc reached with national news agencies and influential media structures of foreign states has reached 35. And it is not a limit, you will witness new cooperation agreements in the near future.Our courseWho owns the future media? Who will make it through the competition growing every day? The questions are certainly more concerning for officials of classic media. Some of my colleagues, the older ones in particular, refuse to take social media, that cover almost the whole world, seriously. However, regardless of their will, time has its own challenges, and the future belongs to those who feel the challenges and respond to them.AzerTAc today is the oldest member of the Azerbaijani media community: 95 years is definitely not a small age. No matter how hard it is to break the stereotypes formed throughout years, adapt to the needs of our digital world, it is inevitable.In order to keep up with the times, we have to run, sometimes almost losing our breath. AzerTAc is ready for such marathon: its young collective capable of carrying the burden of time on their shoulders, familiar with the language of modern news technologies, professionals aware of the responsibility for spreading information and masters of their job.We have only one criterion that has neither changed yesterday nor today: truthfulness and authenticity, correctness of information. Keeping up the traditions in an age when the rules get broken in some cases or when the news space is filled with information far from impartiality, dedicated to shows and PR, in the light of the wave of revolutionary changes created by the Internet Age, is possible, hard. But we, AzerTAc, need to cope with it. I think that our only path, the key to further success lies in the combination of new traditions, searches for a common denominator.AzerTAc in world information space

Our great leader Heydar Aliyev knew what major influence information had. That is why he was constantly saying that Azerbaijani realities should be spread all over the world. He complained: we should not only talk for ourselves, come out with your information in the world space, popularize Azerbaijan, deliver what is happening in our country, what we are to the international society.

AzerTAc stresses on the goals, recommendations and principles set by our great leader. That is what makes us successful. Today, our country has enough interesting news worth spreading worldwide. Under the leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, we are confidently moving along the path of democratic state construction, to become one of the top socio-economic developers of the world. Bringing news reflecting this rise to the world information space is naturally a priority for the country. The path lies through international cooperation, publication of news in as many languages and as widely as possible.

AzerTAc that has been exchanging information with almost 130 countries of the world made 103,534 news items and 8,331 video news on different topics in Azerbaijani, Russian, English, German, French, Arabic and Chinese the previous year.

However tedious the figures may look, only statistics may truly reflect an agency’s progress in its field. For example, 3,565 news, 669 videos and 1,631 photos of AzerTAc in 2014 were posed on the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), which unites 44 information agencies of 35 countries, 413 news items on the Black Sea Association of National News Agencies (BSANNA), 2,706 news items and 304 photos on the Alliance of National Information Agencies of CIS Countries, an average of 8-10 news items daily on the International Islamic News Agency (IINA), which unites over 40 news agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Chinese news agency Xinhua. In general, last year, electronic resources and regional structures placed 7,203 news items, 1,935 photos and 669 video materials of AzerTAc.

There are other efficient and effective means of spreading the truth about Azerbaijan in the world information space. Would it be fair if foreign journalists visited our country and write what they see with their own eyes?! I share such an opinion that in order to love Azerbaijan, one needs to see and recognize it. In our practice, there have been many cases leading to positive results. I can give an example. AzerTAc has recently organized a visit of Lim Dong Kun, a journalist of Korea’s Yonhap news agency, to Azerbaijan, doing providing him with all he needs to get to know our country. The Korean reporter returned with a bright experience, with quite full material. Notice the topic he chose: “Azerbaijan – the rich land chosen by Prometheus.” The article is full of love towards our country and filled with interesting photo images was published in the December release of the Imazine magazine of Yonhap last year. In the reporter’s words, it got numerous responses associated with the article.

Our foreign reporters are another means in this field. Simultaneously with making news in countries they stay in, they regularly present materials on Azerbaijan at local mass media. In 2014, all respectable media of the U.S., Europe and Asia published 181 materials made by our reporters, achievements of Azerbaijan were delivered to a wide range of viewers.

Moreover, analytical articles of the author of this article under the headlines “Confidence and decisiveness demonstrated by President Ilham Aliyev at the Praga Summit, - indicators of growing authority of the Azerbaijani state on the international arena”, “Reliable address of international contacts”, “Transformation from traditional media to the worldwide information network is inevitable” have been published on United States’ Eurasia Hoy and Foreign Policy News, Germany’s Eurasianews.de, Austria’s Society magazine, Turkey’s Gundem, Dengue, Kars Haber, Halg.

AzerTAc forms media dialogue of East and West

Azerbaijan is located on an important geopolitical spot. It can be called a bridge between the East and the West, a gateway opening for both continents. It is indeed a unique moment allowing AzerTAc to play the role of a bridge, improving dialogue between media structures of the East and the West. I would like to bring in several examples to demonstrate how our agency values the opportunity.

Together with the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), AzerTAc is a member of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA), the International Islamic News Agency (IINA). It is also a co-founder of the Association of National Information Agencies of CIS Member-States, the Association of News Agencies of Turkic Speaking Countries (TKA), the Black Sea Association of National News Agencies (BSANNA). At the OANA General Assembly in Moscow, the AzerTAc director general was elected as a member of the bureau and vice president of the structure for the third time.

Being so widely and actively represented at international media structures, spreading the truth about Azerbaijan on such wide territory, allows us to create a platform for dialogue between information agencies of the East and the West. The basis of this platform was founded in September 2008, when AzerTAc was hosting the 30th session of the OANA Executive Committee, called “Information for all in the globalizing world.” At the session, very influential figures of the world information policy of Asia and Europe were present for the first time in our contemporary history. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev welcomed the guests personally, making the event more significant.

AzerTAc plans to enrich the tradition even more in 2016-2019, while chairing the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies and the World Congress of News Agencies. In 2016, AzerTAc will host both the 16th OANA General Assembly and the 5th World Congress of News Agencies. The two are considered the most authoritative media events of the international society. Frankly speaking, many wanted to chair the influential structures. That is why I think there is no need in detailed clarification of the decision made in an atmosphere of the most serious choice-making and competition. I just want to mention that, unlike other international media structures, chairmanship in the OANAA and the World Congress of News Agencies is picked secretly, not via rotation, one vote may sometimes be decisive. And it is unsurprising because the structures unite up to 150 influential mass media sources.

Last year, AzerTAc organized a session of the Council of the World Congress of News Agencies. Preparation for the 5th World Congress of News Agencies, which AzerTAc will host in 2016, was discussed at the session. The attendees speak for themselves, the chairman of the World Congress of News Agencies and the president of the Saudi Press Agency, the president of the OANA and the director general of TASS Russia, the general executive director of the Austria Press Agency, the secretary general of the World Congress of News Agencies, the secretary general of the Federation of Arab News Agencies, the president of the EANA, the general executive director of PressAssociation of the UK, the director general of the Anadolu Agency of Turkey, the chairman of the Association of Information Agencies of Latin America and others. I want to report that the next session of the Council of the Congress will be held on March 1-2, simultaneously with the events dedicated to the 95th anniversary of AzerTAc.

Another platform for dialogue is the Baku International Humanitarian Forums, we are trying to make maximum use of the opportunity. The forums are attended by notable political figures, scientists, ex-heads of states, heads of influential world media sources. AzerTAc organizes round-table conferences dedicated to topical media problems within the framework of the Baku forums. It also serves as our contribution to development of the media dialogue between the East and the West. Leading media specialists from different continents exchange opinions about modern tendencies of development and media brands at the round-table conferences, comparing their opinions. As an example, I would like to mention the topic introduced for discussions at the latest forum: “Media Transformation in the Digital Age: New Development Trends.” Attendees of the round-table conference cover a very wide range of geography: ex-president of the EANA, heads of TASS Russia, APA of Austria, BERNAMA of Malaysia, VNA of Vietnam, WAFA of Palestine, WAM of the United Arab Emirates, Kazinform of Kazakhstan, AGI of Italy, Tanjug of Serbia and other media structures, specialists and experts shared opinions about actual media problems in the globalizing world at panel sessions.

I would like to conclude speculations about the topic by one more factor. The number of agreements AzerTAc reached with national news agencies and influential media structures of foreign states has reached 35. And it is not a limit, you will witness new cooperation agreements in the near future.

Our course

Who owns the future media? Who will make it through the competition growing every day? The questions are certainly more concerning for officials of classic media. Some of my colleagues, the older ones in particular, refuse to take social media, that cover almost the whole world, seriously. However, regardless of their will, time has its own challenges, and the future belongs to those who feel the challenges and respond to them.

AzerTAc today is the oldest member of the Azerbaijani media community: 95 years is definitely not a small age. No matter how hard it is to break the stereotypes formed throughout years, adapt to the needs of our digital world, it is inevitable.

In order to keep up with the times, we have to run, sometimes almost losing our breath. AzerTAc is ready for such marathon: its young collective capable of carrying the burden of time on their shoulders, familiar with the language of modern news technologies, professionals aware of the responsibility for spreading information and masters of their job.

We have only one criterion that has neither changed yesterday nor today: truthfulness and authenticity, correctness of information. Keeping up the traditions in an age when the rules get broken in some cases or when the news space is filled with information far from impartiality, dedicated to shows and PR, in the light of the wave of revolutionary changes created by the Internet Age, is possible, hard. But we, AzerTAc, need to cope with it. I think that our only path, the key to further success lies in the combination of new traditions, searches for a common denominator.