Anadolu agency wire-service in Balkans top in region 1 year after launch

A year into its launch, The Anadolu Agency's wire-service in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages in the Balkans has earned great acclaim, filling a considerable gap in news gathering in the region. AA's service in the Balkans produce 75 news stories, 150 photographs and 25 news footage daily and it is a major source for regional media outlets most of which cannot afford correspondent overseas due to economic dire straits. The wire-service was free of charge since March 11, 2012, the date when it first started broadcasting from headquarters Sarajevo which was launched in a ceremony attended by Bakir Izetbegovic, Bosniak member of the Presidential Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc and AA's Board Chairman and Director General Kemal Ozturk. The service is set go on a subscription basis on March 15, and it already won lots of subscribers including Bosnia-Herzegovina's state-run television network BHRT. The service will operate on a new online news system that can transmit news item, photograph and video on a single platform.