Memoria 2020

2020 Annual Report

Versión en Español

Letter from the president

Agencia EFE is a state-owned company that provides an essential public service: providing accurate news, mainly in Spanish, from around the world. In 2020, EFE produced three million news items in various formats for more than 2,000 clients. The pandemic forced the agency to adapt its systems, but production remained at the same level, both in quality and quantity, thanks to the dedication of its professionals

I took office as president of Agencia EFE in May 2020. I am the first woman to head the company in its 82-year history. It is a great honor and, at the same time, an enormous responsibility. This can be seen as a statement. In the media sector -and in news agencies in particular- it is mainly men that hold power. This is another example, not only symbolic, of EFE and the Spanish government’s commitment to inalienable democratic principles such as the freedom of the press and equality.

The fourth-largest agency in the world and first in Spanish aims not only to maintain its position, but to improve on it. 2020 has not been an easy year. Our professionals suffered attacks while reporting in Mexico, Panama, the United States, Brazil and Nicaragua. Journalists continued to work under the threat of a global pandemic. But 2020 has also been a year that has forced us to reinvent ourselves and to reflect on EFE’s role in the world, the new demands for news and the need to undertake innovative strategies. In a negative and changing economic context, accurate news is essential more than ever as we face misinformation and conspiracy theories that are so damaging to our democracies.

The 2020 annual report has been prepared in line with Agencia EFE’s commitment to transparency.

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Agencia EFE in 2020

Quality and ethics

The nature and size of EFE is not well known. To better understand its activity and penetration in the news market, the agency has updated its information for the general public

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We are a state-owned news gency that is accountable to the Spanish parliament, the Spanish Court of Auditors and the European Commission, and we comply with a strict code of ethics and a protocol for obtaining and editing news, using collective decision making

Internal quality control is endorsed by the Editorial Board, the agency journalists’ professional representative council, which oversees newsroom activities outlined in a statute.

This presentation includes its history and the main figures of the last several months.

Numbers

EFE is the news agency in Spanish largest and the fourth in the world.

A global agency recognized by the EU as an essential public service.
Publishes 3 million news items a year to more than 2,000 clients, including the media, institutions and companies.
A multimedia news company with a powerful global network of journalists of 60 different nationalities, 24 hours a day, from more than 180 cities in 120 countries.

EFE is the news agency in Spanish largest and the fourth in the world.

A global agency recognized by the EU as an essential public service.
Publishes 3 million news items a year to more than 2,000 clients, including the media, institutions and companies.
A multimedia news company with a powerful global network of journalists of 60 different nationalities, 24 hours a day, from more than 180 cities in 120 countries.

Around the world

EFE coordinates its global coverage from three key locations, where professionals are responsible for consolidating, coordinating and receiving the enormous amount of news produced by its impressive international network of journalists.

Online

Updated in March 2021, the size of Agencia EFE’s online presence

 

6.217.280 page views per month

616.000 subscribers

74.179 followers

46.400 followers

1.901.950 followers

www.efe.com: 6.217.280 page views per month

 

EFE TV: 616.000 followers

 

Agencia EFE: 74.179 followers

 

efe_noticias: 46.400 followers

 

EFE noticias: 1.901.950 followers

EFE is always there

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

EFE on the five continents

Bureaus

Correspondents

  • Bureaus
  • Correspondents
  • Americas
  • Argentina
  • Bolivia
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Costa Rica
  • Cuba
  • Ecuador
  • El Salvador
  • Guatemala
  • Honduras
  • Mexico
  • Nicaragua
  • Panama
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Puerto Rico
  • United States
  • Uruguay
  • Venezuela
  • Europe
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Italy
  • Portugal
  • Russia
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • UK
  • Africa
  • Algeria
  • Egypt
  • Kenya
  • Morocco
  • Tunisia
  • Asia
  • China
  • India
  • Iran
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Thailand
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Haiti
  • Europe
  • Albania
  • Andorra
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • Hungary
  • Ireland
  • Kosovo
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Czech Rep.
  • Romania
  • Serbia
  • Sweden
  • Ukraine
  • Africa
  • Angola
  • Burkina Faso
  • Cameroon
  • Ivory Coast
  • Ethiopia
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Malawi
  • Maldives
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Mozambique
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Central African Rep.
  • DR Congo
  • Senegal
  • Sierra Leone
  • Somalia
  • South Africa
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe
  • Asia and Middle East
  • Afghanistan
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bangladesh
  • Bahrain
  • Cambodia
  • Gaza and West Bank
  • Georgia
  • Indonesia
  • Iraq
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Lebanon
  • Malaysia
  • Myanmar
  • Nepal
  • Pakistan
  • Philippines
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Korea
  • Sri Lanka
  • Syria
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Taiwan
  • Turkey
  • Vietnam
  • Yemen
  • Oceania
  • Australia

Bureaus

  • Americas
  • Argentina
  • Bolivia
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Costa Rica
  • Cuba
  • Ecuador
  • El Salvador
  • Guatemala
  • Honduras
  • Mexico
  • Nicaragua
  • Panama
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Puerto Rico
  • United States
  • Uruguay
  • Venezuela
  • Europe
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Italy
  • Portugal
  • Russia
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • UK
  • Africa
  • Algeria
  • Egypt
  • Kenya
  • Morocco
  • Tunisia
  • Asia
  • China
  • India
  • Iran
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Thailand

Correspondents

  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Haiti
  • Europe
  • Albania
  • Andorra
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • Hungary
  • Ireland
  • Kosovo
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Czech Rep.
  • Romania
  • Serbia
  • Sweden
  • Ukraine
  • Africa
  • Angola
  • Burkina Faso
  • Cameroon
  • Ivory Coast
  • Ethiopia
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Malawi
  • Maldives
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Mozambique
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Central African Rep.
  • DR Congo
  • Senegal
  • Sierra Leone
  • Somalia
  • South Africa
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe
  • Asia and Middle East
  • Afghanistan
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bangladesh
  • Bahrain
  • Cambodia
  • Gaza and West Bank
  • Georgia
  • Indonesia
  • Iraq
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Lebanon
  • Malaysia
  • Myanmar
  • Nepal
  • Pakistan
  • Philippines
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Korea
  • Sri Lanka
  • Syria
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Taiwan
  • Turkey
  • Vietnam
  • Yemen
  • Oceania
  • Australia
  • Bureaus
  • Correspondents

Human Resources

The necessary rotation of journalists this year meant the replacement of bureau chiefs (EFE’s representatives outside Spain) in six important cities: Brussels, Paris, London, La Paz, Rome and São Paulo. In 2021, there will be new bureau chiefs in Cairo, Washington, Tokyo, New York, Beijing, Puerto Rico and Jerusalem. EFE has a workforce of 1.106 employees.

EFE servicios

EFEservicios is an innovative tool that allows customers and end users to easily download content. The platform is optimised for Spain, America and Asia.

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Our clients

EFE has suffered similar shocks to those faced by hundreds of thousands of companies worldwide during the pandemic.

The agency was one of the first companies in the public sector to have a protocol for Covid-19, which was decisive for quickly implementing an orderly system for remote working and ensuring news production. EFE immediately offered clients a free service covering the pandemic.

A number of projects, such as EFE’s 80th anniversary celebrations, were cut short. The company had to accept that the media sector, including its main clients, was facing problems in meeting the cost of the agency’s high quality services.

EFE’s commitment to its traditional customers resulted in new agreements that helped their situation.

EFE has more than 2,000 customers on five continents.
Customers around the world

Live

The fight againt misinformation

The 80th anniversary celebrations continued during the first several weeks of 2020 until the pandemic brought an early end to the campaign. As a result, the company failed to receive the full financial and reputational benefits.

In the days leading up to confinement in March, however, the agency was successesful in two interesting areas: its news videos offered on third-party platforms increased sales in the English-speaking market and the Poynter Institute awarded company the International Fact-Checking Network badge.

At the same time, the EFE Verifica service, which works continously to fight misinformation, increased production in a particularly relevant journalistic field in the negative context of populism and the creation of a massive number of hoaxes.

Serving society

The independence of journalists, accuracy, professionalism and transparency are EFE’s journalism values that serve society.

The agency is aware of the concerns of citizens and has specialized news wires on issues of social importance such as health, the environment and equality.

Around the world

epa

On an international scale,the appointment of a new president for the European Pressphoto Agency(epa) in mid-2020 was a strategic decision in to improve EFE’s financials.Epa is a private company owned by nine European agencies with EFE holding a majority stake. Its network of 200 photographers and videographers provides global cover age by supplying audio visual material to the agency from outside Spain and Latin America,two territories where EFE is firmly established.

Under President Julia Rodríguez Arévalo, a veteran EFE journalist, epa has been able to sign new and interesting contracts during a difficult 2020 and to present an austere, transparent and realistic action plan to attract new investors. Today, epa is a very important supplier of images to the agency. EFE has increased its production and its global video presence.

Looking after Spanish

Internacional alliances

We are in a world in which establishing alliances with potential competitors is one of the future strategies to continue playing in the major international leagues.

EFE has incorporated its videos into the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters platforms. It now reaches areas where it had little influence before

EFE’s videos and photographs are now hosted on international sales platforms, such as Shutterstock, one of the largest photography marketplaces in the United States.

Fundéu RAE

The Fundación del Español Urgente, Fundéu, strengthened its ties with the Real Academia Española, to create FundéuRAE, a small institution that has built up an enormous reputation in a short period of time. Fundéu´s two main backers -the Real Academia Espalola and Agencia EFE- are committed to guaranteeing its viability while preserving its linguistic criteria. The new venture has the support of Queen Letizia, who has agreed to be the honorary president of its board of trustees, and of the Instituto Cervantes, whose directo, Luis García Montero, is a member of the board.

Proper use of Spanish

Agencia EFE, as the world’s leading Spanish-language news agency, ensures the proper use of Spanish through projects such as Practica Español and agreements with organizations such as the Instituto Cervantes

The year of the pandemic

Financial Results

EFE’s financial results were affected by the crisis caused by the pandemic. In addition to the negative trend already affecting its main clients, there was a slowdown in general economic activity. All this resulted in a drop in revenue and expenses.

The practical paralysis of physical meetings forced a reduction in the number of events organized by the agency, which are, in turn, a source of news. However, thanks to the support of new technologies, hybrid and virtual meetings were held. Virtual meetings have become essential to maintaining this part of the activity.

OWC (Own Work Capitalized) is revenue that compensates the costs incurred by the company when it uses its own equipment and personnel. In Agencia EFE’s specific case, the fixed assets refer mainly to the Data Bank and the Graphic Archive, as well as, although to a lesser extent, to IT development.

Financial Results

Financial Results

Financial Results

Public service

Recognitions and Awards

In addition to offering exclusive news and interviews with the most important protagonists of current affairs, a number of EFE journalists were awarded different prizes. In chronological order, winners included Pilar Salas (Enrique Mapelli Award), Paolo Aguilar (International Malaga Festival), Oscar Tomasi (Mesa del Tabaco), Arturo Larena (The 100 Latinos Most Committed to Climate Action), Javier Otazu, Ana Isabel Cordobés and Iñaki Porto (Association of Journalists of Navarra), Violeta Molina and Macarena Baena (Against Gender Violence), Juan Ignacio Roncoroni (Adepa), María Traspaderne (Defense), Álex Segura (IMF Economic Journalism) and Nacho Gallego (Cossío). As a collective, the agency’s work has been recognized on a number of occasions and efe.com received the SEO2019 award from IndexWatch.

The King of Spain International Journalism Awards dedicated an honorable mention to the EFE Archive, which contains 20 million photographs, 24 million news stories and documents, and 300,000 videos. The International Data Verification Network highlighted the work of Efe Verifica, the report ‘Invisible Manila, ’ led by Sara Gómez Armas, received a special mention from the Manuel Alcántara Foundation, the GLAAD organization presented EFE an award for the work on a transgender biologist, pharmacists acknowledged the agency’s work in Extremadura as did Data Prize for the project ‘Visual Journalism Without Constraints.’

Service of General Economic Interest (SGEI)

Despite the difficulties, Agencia EFE -one of the most influential agencies in the world- met its quantitative objectives of producing news in all formats and continued its commitment to quality.

The European Commission has recognized EFE’s activity as a Service of General Economic Interest (SGEI) and has authorized the funding that the agency -a state-owned company- receives from the state.
The SGEI system sets strict conditions for calculating the compensation that EFE may receive for carrying out its public service obligations, in a manner that is compatible with European treaties and competition rules. The agency has been allocated annual SGEI state aid of 53.9 million euros.

2020 in photos

A small sample of the enormous amount of news produced by the agency is shown in this video with images chosen from the thousands taken during the 12 months. Each year, production continues to expand its valuable archive.

EFEComunica

Strategic commitment

During the last several months of 2020, the agency begn an initiative to increase revenue and diversify its business model: EFEComunica. The unit will be in charge of developing and promoting on-demand products that the agency offers and that companies and institutions need to publicize their work or show their social commitment. EFE feels especially comfortable when it comes to promoting values such as the fight against climate change, sustainability, Europeanism, equality, health and science.

Internal communication

Internal Communication

These months have been a time in which one of EFE’s main challenges has been to focus on listening, understanding and explaining what was happening. At the agency, two-way remote
communication was established with the aim of responding to the uncertainties workers had and where internal communication was key. The intranet was the main platform to ensure an emotional connection and inform on the situation as it eveolved, which not only increased the capacity to respond, but also to listen.

Internal communication has proven to play a very useful role for integration, with the aim of identifying and understanding the factors that promote the company’s commitment

 

Internal Communication

To innovate internal communications, it was essential to follow a strategy that would build and enhance the agency’s reputation, while increasing the sense of belonging and pride in journalism.

The role of each and every employee, their commitment and professionalism, served to confirm the company’s credibility from the inside. This “ad intra” became “ad extra” and public service journalism earned the vote of confidence from the public when they saw the commendable work carried out by our journalists during the hardest times of the pandemic, fulfilling their duty and responsibility to guarantee the right to information.

Internal communication became more transversal and people turned to the organisation from the confinement of their homes.

The Communication department became a producer of content to make the work of each division visible and this served so employees could see, value and respect each other’s work. Everyone was aware of the importance and more conscious than ever of the fact that they were all helping people.

2020 has not been an easy year for any media company.

It was a year, however, that EFE has made the most of to lay the foundations for constant evolution that every company with ambitions to prevail and improve must undergo.

In 2021, the agency will continue to focus on jobs and the production of quality news around the world.