Wire services should change with the times: Xinhua president

Wire services, as a traditional mass media, could survive and secure their positions only by following the trend of the times and making use of technological innovations to expand their business, President of Xinhua news agency Tian Congming said in Moscow on Friday.

Addressing the session of the World's Congress of News Agencies, Tian said that Xinhua has invested a huge sum of capital in projects to build an information technology-based system that has laid a foundation for Xinhua to eventually become an wire service equipped with digital, intelligent and multi-media facilities.

Tian said that by now, Xinhua has established a worldwide network for news and information gathering, processing, marketing, and transmission, which integrates optical fiber cable with satellite communication technology.  

Tian also introduced Xinhua Multimedia Database which has been worked on in recent years.

He said the Multimedia Database serves as a digital working platform integrating news and information editing, storage, processing, management, marketing and service.

"This sub-platform links the news and information gathering and editing systems of our branches at home and abroad," said the Xinhua president.

Meanwhile, the website -- www.xinhuanet.com -- run by Xinhuanews agency, is another major project launched with the help of its multimedia database and with the integration of advanced information and internet technology and advantageous resources, Tian said.

"As we have seen, the emergence of the internet-based on-line media has prompted a profound global change in the press circle. Its unique advantages and functions of the on-line media have helped it break various limits of the traditional mass media," the Xinhua head said.

Tian noted that for wire services, the change represents both a serious challenge and a historic opportunity.

Source: Xinhua