ANSA CEO Stefano De Alessandri becomes President of European Alliance of News Agencies

Brussels – The European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) has elected Stefano De Alessandri, CEO of ANSA, as its new president for the next two years. The General Assembly also decided to admit a new member to EANA. The new partner will be the Latvian news agency LETA, the Alliance’s 33rd member.

“I am honored to contribute my expertise to EANA, as I believe that collaboration among agencies is essential to addressing the complexity of today’s information landscape,” De Alessandri said, commenting on his new role. He succeeds Fabrice Fries, chief executive of Agence France-Presse.

Baltic journalists welcomed the entry of the Latvian news agency. “It is our honor and pleasure to become a full member of the European news agencies community. Coming from a small country with a limited domestic market, we are confident that an international network of relationships and friendships is essential for future development,” said LETA CEO Juris Mendziņš.

To meet the challenges of the future, the Assembly also decided to appoint Aimilios Perdikaris, chairman of the board of the Athens-Macedonian Press Agency (ANA-MPA, Greece), as a new member of the EANA Board. “This is not only a personal honor, but also a vote of confidence in AMNA and Greece. At a time when news agencies are facing major challenges, such as the use of AI, but also serious risks from disinformation, fake news, and deep fakes, the need to maintain their credibility is more important than ever,” the new board member said.

EANA was founded in 1956 in Berne and is based at the Swiss News Agency (SDA). According to its statutes, the purpose of EANA is to “ensure that its member news agencies can operate as impartial news providers, upholding the principles of freedom of information.”