PNA TURNS 49. News and Information Bureau (NIB) Acting Director Virginia Arcilla-Agtay (white long-sleeves), Philippine News Agency Executive Editor Luis Morente (4th from left), and PNA personnel pose for a photo during the organization’s 49th founding anniversary celebration on Tuesday (March 1, 2022). PNA is under supervision and control of the News and Information Bureau, an attached agency of the PCOO. (Photo by Joey O. Razon)
MANILA – The operations of the government's official newswire, Philippine News Agency (PNA), have been "fairly" smooth amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Evidently, the hard work of the writers and editors behind crafting daily news stories has been paying off with the official PNA webpage hitting a record high of almost 6 million views in October last year.
PNA Managing Editor Cynthia V. Luna cited the work from home arrangement during the pandemic has posted challenging changes as the PNA requires field operations to continue providing up-to-date news and relevant information.
Despite these difficult times, Luna noted "no operation has so far been disrupted."
"Everyone is reachable via various messaging apps. Editorial meetings are held virtually. Editors and reporters are constantly communicating on how to ensure the quality of reports," Luna said. "Our operations have been fairly smooth since the pandemic struck."
Marking the PNA's 49th anniversary on March 1, Luna both commended and thanked the people behind the PNA operations who worked hard and sacrificed a lot to consistently provide relevant news reportage amid the prevailing health crisis.
PNA Executive Editor Luis Morente likewise said the pandemic has required demanding operations as the PNA workers did not escape from the threat of the coronavirus disease.
"Several employees later turned out positive that made it more challenging because it depleted our manpower," Morente said.
But he added it did not prevent the government news agency from fulfilling its mandate of "telling stories that inspire change", especially during these trying times that the public has to be informed, "that they are part of the solution in defeating this dreaded virus".
Morente also thanked the workers for "making PNA more relevant and more competitive today" as he vowed that PNA will continue to improve its news content for the webpage and social media platforms.
For her part, News and Information Bureau (NIB) Director Virginia Arcilla-Agtay cited the PNA workers who remain steadfast amid the "high degree of resistance to internal adversities, and external uncertainties such as this Covid-19 pandemic, and receptive to content improvement."
"Amid the health crisis, we continue to sacrifice and play our part in the community by keeping our people informed and aware," she said.
Agtay said the PNA's celebration of its 49th year in service only goes to show how the PNA has grown to be "a well-trusted and grounded institution serving the government and its people."
The PNA was established on March 1, 1973, as the national government's official news agency, with its newswire operations initially relying only on teletype machines and typewriters.
It has evolved today as an internet-based news service agency that provides timely, factual, and objective news and information to its subscribers, readers, and a host of other clients here and abroad.
With the election of Rodrigo R. Duterte as the country’s 16th President in 2016, PNA was given much-needed attention and support to overhaul and modernize its operations starting with fiber optic connection; launch of new website interface design; and renovation of its central office.
On October 16, 2017, it officially launched its very own news webcast, the PNA Newsroom, being aired on Facebook pages of the Presidential Communications Operations Office and attached agencies, particularly the state-run PTV 4, from Mondays to Fridays.
"We thank Director Virginia Arcilla-Agtay for steering PNA during the Duterte administration and our dedicated co-workers who continue to do their part in making PNA more relevant and more competitive today," Morente said.
The PNA also strengthened its presence in the social media landscape to effectively disseminate relevant and objective news to a wider audience.
It also maintains active news sharing agreements with other news agencies, mostly also state-owned, which are also members of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), including Bernama in Malaysia, Antara in Indonesia, Kyodo of Japan, Xinhua in China, Yonhap of Korea, Press Trust India (PTI), Anadolu Agency in Turkey and TASS in Russia, among others. (PNA)
