Algeria Press Service

Algeria Press Service
Algérie Presse Service
وكالة الأنباء الجزائرية

Type	Not-for-profit news agency
Industry	News media
Founded	1 December 1961 (1961-12-01)
Headquarters	Algiers, Algeria
Owner	Government of Algeria
Website	aps.dz

Algeria Press Service (APS; French: Algérie Presse Service; Arabic: وكالـة الأنبــاء الجزائريـة‎) is a news agency based in Algeria. Its first hand-typed news with the national flag's colours was then taken up by all the foreign media of the time.

History

The agency was founded in Algiers on 1 December 1961^[1] in the wake of the national liberation war to be its standard-bearer on the world media scene. As a strong supporter of the November 1954 Revolution, APS settled soon after the cease-fire at the Kasbah of Algiers, a historical place and the centre of the resistance during the war. The agency was preparing for the post war period, i.e. reconstruction of the country, consolidation of national sovereignty.

Following the Independence, APS temporarily settled in a maisonette at Krim Belkacem Boulevard, improving its editorial office. They began establishing their network throughout the country and acquiring their first technical equipment. With the equipment, it was able to take part in its role as a public-service broadcasting network. In the meantime, it started training journalists, technicians and operators.

On 1 April 1963, the agency, which moved to a building at Ernesto Che Guevara Boulevard where it stayed for over 30 years, began telegraphic news broadcasting and connected itself with other news agencies world agencies. It also extended its network of regional bureaux and invested in its representations abroad. Its expanding photography service at the time enabled APS to spread pictures of Algeria's wide reconstruction process using the Belino System.

On 19 November 1985, APS became a public institution with economic missions, endowed with social and cultural dimensions. On 20 April 1991 it became a public institution with an industrial and economic status endowed with the prerogatives of a public organization.

In January 1993, the agency moved to its new headquarters in Kouba and was entirely involved in the battle of new technologies. This is how on 1 January 1994 it launched its first computerised editorial office, and on 25 April 1995 started delivering its news automatically.

On 18 February 1998, APS inaugurated its Web, having been hosted the previous year by the Research Centre in Scientific and Technical Information (CERIST).

On 5 July 1998, both of the 's pages in Arabic and the agency's online products were launched. This marked the starting-point of a new stage that would position the agency among the world leaders of news and communication.

In November of the same year, APS launched its broadcast via satellite, which would help the agency diversify its service range. From then on, its clients would have the possibility to get remote and real time access to its data banks, its à la carte specialised services, its digital pictures and computer-graphic products.

At the agency's central editorial office, the news is collected by 12 chief editorial staffs: the political, social, cultural, sports, regional, investigations and reporting, business, data banks, international, translation and Internet departments.

Divisions

At the regional level, the news is collected by a network of correspondents gathered around 12 co-ordinations and covering all of the country.

References

External links

• Official website