Mass Media's Role To Provide Authentic Information Even Greater Now: OANA President

 The role and responsibility of the mass media to provide only authentic and truthful information are even greater now amid the world witnessing events that claim not only civilian lives but also journalists performing their professional duty, the 38th Organisation of Asia Pacific News Agencies (OANA) Board Meeting heard here today.
OANA's President Sergey Mikhaylov, in his opening remarks, pointed out that trustworthiness and honesty were the merits that have been appreciated in all countries and at all times.
"Honesty is the best policy, an old saying goes," he said in his speech read by OANA Secretary General Mikhail Gusman.
The meeting, hosted by the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), is participated by some 40 chief executive officers and top officials from OANA executive board members.
The president also noted that throughout the more than 50-year long history, OANA has made a tangible contribution towards promoting closer relations among the 44 Asia-Pacific news agencies from 35 countries to address a wide variety of social and cultural tasks.
Gusman later told Bernama that today's meeting indicated the collaboration and cooperation among the member countries not only at official meetings but also unofficial ones.
He also pointed out to the new challenges facing news agencies amid new technologies.
"We have to work together on how we can come out with answers amid these new challenges. That is very important," Gusman said.
The news agencies involved at the meeting are Russia's TASS, China's Xinhua, South Korea's Yonhap, Indonesia's Antara, Emirates News Agency (WAM), Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Bahrain News Agency (BNA), Iran's IRNA, Turkey's Anadolu, Iran's Mehr News Agency (MNA), Mongolia's MONTSAME News Agency, Australian Associated Press (AAP), Azerbaijan's AzerTAc and Kazakhstan's INA kazinform
OANA was formed in 1961 on the initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to secure direct and free exchange of news among the news agencies of a region inhabited by more than one half of the world's population.
-- BERNAMA