the
channel
|
31
KS: APTN was launched in 1994. The
landscape since that time has changed
rapidly. Since you took over in October
2000, what have been the major changes
you have experienced?
IR: I believe the major shift in news
broadcasting, even in the last two years, has
been the growth of 24-hour news channels and
the ever-increasing appetite for live material.
This has been exemplified by the war in Iraq
where the priority has been for live and/or near
to live pictures. Speed has always been
important for a news agency and this has
heightened recently. The establishment of two
channels of live and near to live coverage,
marketed asAPTNDirect, has proved a major
success in our war coverage and demonstrates
the growing appetite for that kind of coverage.
Our investment in new technology whether it
be store and forward systems or satellite
capability generally, also has provided us with
an unprecedented amount of live coverage
during the war.
KS: How did the Iraq war change your
focus and activities?
IR: There is no question that the crisis in Iraq
dominated our activities in recent months. We
planned over a period of time and our editorial
performance benefited from that activity. Our
commitment to spend millions of dollars on
coverage and equipment was also a step into
the unknown in that nobody knew how long or
when hostilities would take place. Our
preparation not only involved our news and
editorial coverage, but also our broadcast
services resources and facilities, as well as our
crucial Middle Eastern service for our Arab
customers. Never an hour went past where we
didn’t have concerns about the safety of our
personnel in Iraq and the surrounding region.
KS:With so much focus on the Gulf region,
did this affect your coverage to clients of
the rest of the world?
IR: Inevitably there has been a concentration
of resources and activity in Iraq and the
surrounding areas. News agendas around the
world were dominated by the story and our
customers wished us to reflect that situation.
That said, our global bureau infrastructure
enabled us still to cover breaking news stories
anywhere around the world.
KS: The news agency business is a tough
one at the best of time. Putting aside the
Iraq crisis, how does APTN challenge its
competitors?
IR: The news agency business is one where
you can never rest on your laurels. A success
one day is quickly forgotten if this is not
repeated day in and day out. We are judged by
the editorial quality of what we provide, its
speed and its accuracy. In addition, we try as
much as possible to be responsive in every area
of our activity and customer-friendly. It is a
truism that it is vital that we are close to our
customers, not only in the field and where we
provide services, but in every contact we have.
KS: What are the potential growth areas
for APTN?
IR: We possess a huge wealth of content, not
just news but also sport and entertainment.We
have a vast wealth in our archive.We have only
tapped the surface on selling this material,
whether it be in parts of the world that are
expanding their broadcast interests or whether
it be to non-broadcast markets, most notably
in new media and for example in education.
Our content is global and widespread and I
believe has a more universal appeal than
simply to our existing broadcast customers.
KS: Asia is a huge consumer of news.
China in particular has been in the news
lately with the opening up of some of its
media. What are your thoughts on the
growth potential in this part of the world?
IR: The growth potential in China alone is
staggering and there has been a similar
increase in news activities in India, Pakistan
and the Asian region as a whole. I visited
China only last year. CCTV, the State
broadcaster, is a major customer but we would
like to expand our services to the regional
areas in the near future.
KS: APTN has other offerings for clients
such as entertainment and sports feeds.
Did these suffer as a result of the resources
being put into the Gulf region?
IR: Our entertainment and sports feeds have
continued as per normal during the Gulf
conflict. They have their own resources and
facilities dedicated to them and there is no
change in their output.
KS:You are wholly owned by the US-based
Associated Press. Do they dictate the sort
of coverage that APTN puts out or are you
completely separate editorially?
IR: Our editorial coverage is determined
through the senior management of APTN
based in London. Obviously there may be
matters of common policy within theAP as a
whole where it is right that we should debate
and discuss certain issues with colleagues in
AP text and AP photos but the final editorial
decisions are taken by APTN.
KS: How far do you push your people in
the pursuit of a story?
IR: The news agency world is highly
competitive and all of our staff like to win. That
said, being accurate and objective is as, if not
more important than being first and it is vital
that we maintain our editorial standards. Our
business inevitably involves covering and
working in difficult and dangerous areas.All of
our staff in the gulf region are there on a
voluntary basis and are highly experienced
professionals. It is primarily their call as to
where they go and how they cover a particular
story. It would be impossible to “push” them
from London to do things that were not safe,
nor would we.
KS: What compulsory training for staff in
conflict areas does APTN have?
IR: All of our staff in the Iraq war zone were
not only highly experienced but had received
training in such zones and in using the
necessary equipment. APTN sent 150 staff
on conflict zone training over the last 18
months. All of our personnel were fully
equipped with the necessary safety gear, from
helmets to flak jackets, from armoured cars
to chemical warfare suits.
KS: How did technology affect howAPTN
did its job in the field and back at base?
IR: We had over 40 cameras operational in
the war zone, many of them linked up with
store and forward systems and/or video
phones and we had five more conventional
uplinks.All of this necessitated a considerable
capital expenditure before the war started but
has resulted in an amazing amount of live
coverage and a considerable speed in getting
our material back. We have had to
considerably expand our technical facilities
here in London to cope with an unprecedented
number of channels of material coming back
into the building.
KS: Ian Ritchie, thank you.
AIB Interview
Ian Ritchie, APTN
Ian Ritchie was appointed chief executive ofAPTN, the television news agency
of theAssociated Press in October 2000,moving from MBC, the Middle East
Broadcasting Company. APTN footage is used by broadcasters throughout
the world, providing images that are seen on millions of television screens
each day.
Kerry Stevenson
has been talking to Ian at a time when APTN’s services
have never been in greater demand, and as the organisation joins the AIB
