APA and Google launch transformation cooperation

APA CEO Clemens Pig: “Our aim is to accelerate the transfer of defined digital projects into APA’s cooperative ecosystem.”

Building on our successful cooperation in the development of the prototype for the media industry login platform MediaKey, APA is continuing its cooperation with Google in 2023 and has concluded a corresponding transformation cooperation. Google will support a selection of APA’s innovation projects via the Google News Initiative, while APA will contribute digital competence and expertise.

The projects in detail (2023):

  • “Data4Content” is an APA data journalism service for easily utilisable, trustworthy data resources. With “Data Point Climate”, specific data feeds and dossiers on the critical topic of climate are to be developed and offered to editorial offices.
  • “APA-Signals” combines the expertise of APA in the area of artificial intelligence and its content competence for intelligent news monitoring. An innovative monitoring tool is to provide support to editorial offices to handle the flood of information and rapid classification of content and sources.
  • In the battle against disinformation, a joint conference in autumn with fact-checkers, scientists and web experts from Austria, Germany and Switzerland is to shed light on the future of fact-checking.
  • The cooperation also includes a training programme in the form of labs and workshops for media professionals and journalists in the digital transformation.

APA CEO Clemens Pig states the goal as “the accelerated integration of the digital projects and tools necessary for the transformation into APA’s cooperative ecosystem and the ongoing digital interpretation of APA’s basic mission.” Independence in the interest of true and unbiased news is always the overarching objective. As a digital news agency operating in the DACH region, APA now has an international customer base, “thus it makes sense to also bring our cooperation and partner management to an international level,” Pig emphasises.

Christine Antlanger-Winter, Country Director Google Austria: “We are very pleased about this long-term cooperation with APA. For years, Austrian publishers have taken advantage of numerous opportunities to cooperate with Google in the area of innovation and education as part of the Google News Initiative. We see the deepened cooperation with APA – Austria Press Agency as another important contribution to providing support to Austrian publishers in the various challenges and opportunities of digital journalism.”