Society and Mass Media: Heads of 10 BSEC news agencies address problems of information protection amid globalization in Baku

Urgent problems related to information distribution and protection amid globalization were discussed at Fifth General Assembly of National News Agencies Association of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) on June 13, 2011 in Baku. It brought together heads of 10 out of 14 news agencies - members of this international organization, which is marking its fifth anniversary.

The urgency of the theme "innovative development: transparency and modernization" is dictated by modern realities, as the technological progress in many respects determines activities of news agencies, their competitiveness and prompt reaction, while information protection is becoming an important component in a globalized information space. The First Deputy Director-General of ITAR-TASS news agency Mikhail Gusman believes that "use of modern technologies allows news agencies to counteract new challenges emerging on the news market, including information piracy". "New technologies are required to help every person become our correspondent and at the same time – our reader and listener", he said. At the same time Gusman turned special attention to the threat of information attacks in social networks, which as he put it “are becoming even stronger". "Recent events in the North Africa and the Middle East is a case in point", he added. Mikhail Gusman stressed that news agencies are capable to counteract such attacks, what depends on prompt responses, truthfulness, professionalism and close cooperation.

The General Assembly also discussed the establishment of a common information space of the Black Sea region, stronger cooperation among news agencies in the region, use of state-of-the-art technologies, information and experience exchange.

The next 6th meeting of the General Assembly will take place in 2012 in Sochi.