22.06.2022 – 12:26

dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

dpa group continues on growth path
New newsroom for central editorial office in the coming year

Hamburg (ots)

Germany's largest news agency, the German Press Agency (dpa), continued to develop positively in the second year marked by the coronavirus pandemic and remains on a path of growth, in terms of both journalism and business. Revenues of the core company Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH increased to 101 million euros (previous year: 93.9 million). Net profit for the year amounted to 2 million euros (previous year: 1.6 million). The group of companies as a whole also achieved positive growth. The annual turnover in 2021 increased to 156.8 million euros (previous year: 143.9 million). The central editorial office will move into new premises in Berlin next year. A newly designed newsroom in the heart of the capital will offer optimal conditions for a modern news agency and the diverse requirements of the digital and multimedia media landscape. This was announced today by dpa at its 73rd shareholders' meeting in Hamburg.

"In challenging times, dpa has once again demonstrated its strength," said dpa CEO Peter Kropsch. "Both under the conditions created by the coronavirus pandemic during the past two years and currently under the impact of the Russian attack on Ukraine, dpa has provided independent and verified reporting for shareholders and customers. The outstanding team effort of all the group's employees makes our record of success in journalistic and business terms possible."

"With the move to a new newsroom in Berlin, we are positioning dpa to meet the requirements of the coming years," said dpa Editor-in-Chief Sven Gösmann. "The expansion of multimedia services such as audio and video, the digital transformation of all the production processes, and the creation of an inspiring and modern working environment for journalists are at the top of our agenda."

The dpa group's transformation into a marketplace for news, information services, and technologies continues to progress. More companies are present in the marketplace, and more than 25,000 media professionals and communications professionals have a dpa ID and use the services offered. dpa calls this strategy "Magic Marketplace."

Once again, its subsidiaries are key to the dpa group's success. The largest contribution was again made by news aktuell GmbH with its successful services for PR and communications. dpa-infocom GmbH also demonstrated its significant role in the economic development of the group, through its success in occupying new digital business fields and further developing areas such as fact checking and data products. The photo subsidiary dpa Picture Alliance GmbH also made a valuable contribution to the group's success in a highly competitive market. Overall, dpa has further streamlined its brand portfolio. For example, the subsidiaries Fotoagentur Zentralbild GmbH and dpa-digital services GmbH were merged with the parent company.

As part of a comprehensive transformation process, dpa has been intensively involved in remodelling its corporate headquarters on Hamburg's Mittelweg. In the 19th-century villa, an open-plan space with a shared desk principle now provides a contemporary and task-oriented working environment.

Significant changes to the working environment are also currently being implemented for the central editorial office in Berlin. In mid-2023 the newsroom will move into a newly designed workspace on the first floor of the former Springer Passage on Markgrafenstrasse. "The newsroom now being built is our foundation for the coming years, based on our editorial guidelines: open to change, working sustainably, networking with customers, and always with a focus on equal opportunities and diversity," says Editor-in-Chief Sven Gösmann. New spacious studios for the production of audio and video services, an atrium and many transparent spaces underline dpa's ambitions. "We want to build one of the most modern and functional newsrooms in the world - and an environment where our journalists feel comfortable," says Gösmann.

The digital platforms, together with other research and data projects, have developed into a successful business area for dpa. For example, the agency has further strengthened its commitment in the socially relevant field of fact checking. This includes, for example, the newly added activities for WhatsApp and TikTok. Factchecking for Facebook continues successfully in parallel. The Factcheck21 initiative, which will be continued in the current year, has received a positive response from the entire industry. As part of this project, dpa offered a large number of workshops and training courses, particularly for regional publishers, and launched the Factify expertise platform, which offers tips, tools, and practical examples. For several months, dpa has also been curating for Facebook News.

The European Newsroom (ENR) in Brussels, which recently started operations, is an important contribution to the cooperation of the news agency community at a European level. Together with 15 other independent European news agencies, dpa has created a central location for reporting from and about Europe. The key pillars of the ENR are joint work, exchange, training, and events. With this project, dpa and its agency partners are strengthening reporting on European issues.

As a German media joint venture, dpa is particularly committed to two initiatives that affect the development of the industry as a whole. For example the new product dpa-Themenwelten (Theme Worlds) was developed using the findings from the DRIVE (Digital Revenue Initiative) project, which collects and evaluates data on the use of digital offerings. dpa-Themenwelten offers so-called "evergreen content" that can be used to attract readers to digital offerings and then keep them there.

The #UseTheNews initiative, which dpa runs together with other media companies, civil society, and academia, was also put on a sustainable footing. The initiative focuses on promoting news literacy among young people. The establishment of a non-profit company (gGmbh) will secure its long-term outlook.

The Annual Report 2021 focuses on the key theme of "customer benefits." It shows where dpa is of great importance to its customers, which innovations are being driven forward, and which new business areas the agency is opening up. In short: What makes dpa valuable for its customers. The illustrator Thomas Kuhlenbeck was enlisted for the implementation of these topics. Altogether the artist developed nine illustrations.

About dpa:

The German Press Agency (dpa) was founded in 1949 and is one of the world's leading independent news agencies. dpa supplies media outlets, businesses and other organizations with editorial content, including text, photos, videos, graphics, audio and other formats. As an international agency, dpa reports in seven languages. The company has around 1,000 journalists at some 150 locations in Germany and abroad. Its shareholders are about 170 German media companies. Staff work according to the principles outlined in the dpa statute: independently from ideologies, businesses and governments. The central editing desk, under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Sven Gösmann, is located in Berlin. The management team, headed by President & CEO Peter Kropsch, is based in Hamburg. The Chairman of the Board is David Brandstätter (Main-Post GmbH, Würzburg).

Internet: www.dpa.com (German, English, Spanish, Arabic)

Social media: www.dpa.com/de/social-media

Pressekontakt:

German Press Agency dpa
Jens Petersen
Head of Corporate Communications
phone: +49 40 4113 32843
pressestelle@dpa.com

Original content of: dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH, transmitted by news aktuell