APA CEO address to the PDLN conference Vienna 2022

As President of the European Alliance of News Agencies, I would like to welcome you most warmly to this year's Press Database and Licensing Network conference. As Chief Executive of the Austrian News Agency, I am of course particularly pleased that PDLN President Rüdiger Baumberger and Secretary General Andrew Hughes, whom I would like to extend a special welcome to, have chosen Vienna, of all places, as the venue for this important meeting. I would also like to thank the Association of Austrian Newspapers, represented by Managing Director Gerald Grünberger, for taking on the role of conference host together with APA-Defacto, represented by Managing Director Klemens Ganner.

The motto of this event is "Changing Times", which at first glance seems to be in extreme contrast to the setting of tonight’s reception: after all, we are dining in which used to be the private coach entrance for Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth - also known as Sisi - when they attended performances at the former Imperial and Royal Court Theatre. Today these premises are a historic monument in the middle of a theater that is – very much to the disappointment of the Viennese - neither the oldest nor the largest, but at least the most expensive theater in the world.

 But changing times do not stop at a backdrop from the 19th century: within the five minutes that I have the privilege of speaking to you, according to UNESCO 730 children are born worldwide, 17 books are published, and an estimated 6,300 news articles are released. On the other hand, in those five minutes, 19 million searches are made on Google worldwide. On Facebook, 1.800 new profiles are created, 300.000 links are shared, and 15 million likes are sent. 300.000 photos are uploaded on Instagram, and 350 million messages are sent via WhatsApp during my short speech.  And finally, 2,3 million tweets are sent worldwide in these five minutes, 350.000 of them not even by humans but by machines.

A considerable amount of this searched and shared content comes from publishers and media companies ... and given these numbers, it seems almost impossible to award and give the creators of this content, the authors, the journalists, the editors, as well as their employers, their fair share for their work and their rights.  

However, for us media companies, licensing, copyright and respecting the rights chains in media use and media monitoring are central issues ...and for us this is not a question of honor, but a question of survival. Independent journalism is the foundation of democratic coexistence ... and it is more important than ever, especially in these particularly difficult times. The last weeks and months show, like a magnifying glass, how autocratic and dictatorial systems undermine freedom of expression and the rule of law. First, the democratic light is turned off by switching off free media.

So, you all are democracy workers – many thanks for that - and The Press Database and Licensing Network is making a valuable contribution in this regard, and I may wish you every success in your work and especially at this conference.

 In this spirit, I would like to toast with you to a busy but also pleasant time in Vienna and ask you to raise your glasses with me, Prost und zum Wohl!

Dr Clement Pig, CEO APA