Another essential building block of the dpa digital strategy is the new multimedia production platform Rubix, parts of which have already been rolled out. With the children’s news, the first complete dpa service has switched to the so-called Rubix Editor and is successfully producing within the new digital working environment. The focus is on multimedia collaboration. Together, the team can produce combined contributions of images and texts, as well as check and publish them. The close cooperation with the children’s news department helps the development teams to test new features and fix bugs quickly. In mid-2022, the sports team will be the next to switch to Rubix.
Many encouraging results are shown by the so-called profile photo process. The focus is on the changing demands which customers impose on dpa’s photo services. Important improvements were achieved in key areas. Among other things, more topical pictures are moved early in the morning. In addition, delivery speed could be further improved. At the same time, the photographic editorial team has reduced the proportion of re-sent archive pictures and has been able to establish new forms of presentation and picture languages for the symbolic photos.
The dpa is called upon to adapt its offerings to the changing habits of its customer readers. The emphasis here is on a joint initiative of the German-language news agencies for discrimination-sensitive reporting. The agencies see themselves first and foremost as service providers to their customers and owners and will only consider changes such as gender asterisks if their clients specifically request it. The German language already offers many possibilities and the aim is to make more use of these. These can be, for example, double and pair forms, gender-neutral plural forms or neutral function designations. The German-language agencies will continue to observe together the development of the language in the coming years and regularly discuss the requirements.
The intensity of dpa’s interplay with its customers is also reflected in two awards the agency has received. The dpa info channel was awarded the Maxim Minchev Award for News Agency Quality 2021. The service, which is based on the messenger service Slack, serves as an early warning system for editorial offices and targets the special need for information in sudden breaking news situations and during major events. The DRIVE project won the INMA Global Media Awards as “Best in Show” and was honoured as the best initiative worldwide. DRIVE is now backed by around 20 publishing houses together with dpa and the consultancy Schickler. Within the framework of DRIVE, the partners collect and share the usage data of their internet offers in order to gain insights into the behaviour of readers. With their help, the number of digital subscriptions is to be increased. The International News Media Association (INMA) is behind the award.
Of considerable social relevance is the #UseTheNews project initiated by dpa in cooperation with the Office for Media in Hamburg. #UseTheNews deals with the news competence of young people in particular. Highlights in this context are a first symposium on this topic in Hamburg, a comprehensive playbook with the current state of research and numerous best practice examples, the ongoing work of the #UseTheNews-Lab as well as the formation of the community NewZee as an exchange forum with young media consumers.
In the late summer of last year, the world watched in dismay as the Afghan Taliban seized power again within a very short time. Countless people left the country, fearing acts of revenge, or at least tried to do so. Among them are many Afghan local staff of the German media. The agency too, was faced with the task of protecting its own people and of supporting their flight. Fortunately, all dpa local staff and their partners and children managed to leave Afghanistan. The agency is extremely relieved that its staff are safe. The thoughts of chief editors and management are with all the people in Afghanistan who have supported and made possible the free reporting of the international media over the years and who must continue to endure local conditions.
The situation in Myanmar should also be mentioned in this context. For example, the Polish journalist Robert Bociaga, who reported for dpa from the Southeast Asian country, was detained at a police station for several days. Only after coordinated mediation by the German Foreign Office, the German Embassy and the non-governmental organisation Bridges to Justice was Robert Bociaga able to leave the country.
In Germany, too, the situation has become increasingly dangerous for media workers, especially amid demonstrations against the Corona measures or the so-called “walks”. For example, employees of the dpa regularly report being subjected to vilification, intimidation or even physical attacks. dpa regards this development as very worrying and offers its employees the utmost support, including security coverage, security training as well as legal and psychological assistance.
2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the dpa. At the same time, the industry looks back on 175 years of news journalism in Germany. It began when Wolff’s Telegraphisches Bureau in Berlin started work. To mark this occasion, the renowned media historian Hans-Ulrich Wagner (Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans Bredow Institute, Hamburg) is currently working on an independent account of the history of dpa, embedded in the contemporary history of the Federal Republic. The work is expected to appear in winter 2023/24.
Over this past business year, dpa has given itself a new image. Our corporate design has been adapted to the requirements of a digital media company and has been rolled out on all websites, platforms and products.