Hina.hr
Hina.hr
The Croatian News Agency Hina was established on 26 July 1990 in Zagreb by the Hina Law. On 2 November 2001, the Croatian Parliament passed the new Hina Incorporation Law (The Official Gazette, its issue NN 96/01) transforming the agency from a state-owned into an independent public institution ("sui generis") and independent public media. In November, Hina was entered as a legal entity into the register of the institutions of the Zagreb Commercial Court.
The Hina Incorporation Act guarantees editorial, managing and economic and financial independence of Hina, which is defined in more detail by the Statute of Hina. Fundamental provisions are in Article 5 of the Hina Incorporation Act: "Hina acts in accordance with principles of independent, unbiased and professional news agency reporting" ... Hina may not be "exposed to any influence that can jeopardise the accuracy, objectivity or credibility of its information" and must not "de facto or de jure come under the grip of or become the property of any ideological, political or economic group".
In addition, Article 6 regulates Hina's financial independence.
According to this article, Hina's independence is reflected in its financial independence and the right to arrange its internal organisation and models of work by its bodies. It is also reflected in Hina journalists' right to express their position during the procedure of the appointment of the editor-in-chief.
Hina's bodies are the Steering Council of Hina and Director-General. The five-member Steering Council of Hina includes a law expert, a media expert, a finance expert, an information technology expert and a member representing Hina employees.
Members are appointed to the Steering Council by the Croatian Parliament on the basis of a public competition. Council members may not be political party members and may not be office-holders.
A Council member can be dismissed from the post before the end of his or her four-year term in office only according to criteria strictly defined in the law.
Hina's Director-General is appointed by the Steering Council for four-year term in office according to results of a public competition for this post which the Council calls and conducts.
The Hina Incorporation Act and Hina's Statute defines the Steering Council as a body which guarantees and safeguards the independence of the agency from external influence.
Article 14 of the Statute reads that:
"Hina's Steering Council shall guarantee and safeguard independence of Hina, and the accomplishment of other basic obligations and rights of Hina stemming from Article 5 and Article 6 of the Hina Incorporation Act."
Several provisions of Hina's Statute and Collective Agreement, including the ones regulating advisory referendum of reporters on a nominee for the agency's editor-in-chief, provide for the internal independence and the professional freedom of the agency's journalists.
Article 14 of the Hina Incorporation Act reads that "Hina's Steering Council (...) shall appoint and dismiss Hina's editor-in-chief pursuant to a public competition, following the proposal by Hina's director and previously obtained opinion of Hina's journalists..."
Article 24 of Hina's Statute reads: "Hina's editor-in-chief shall be appointed by Hina's Steering Council pursuant to a public competition, following the proposal by Hina's director and previously obtained opinion of Hina's journalists who have expressed their position by secret ballot."
The Hina Incorporation Act stipulates that Hina is organised as a not-for-profit public institution (owned by the Republic of Croatia). It is oriented towards operations under market conditions through the earning of its revenue on the basis of subscription agreements which it signs both with media users that are subscribers to Hina's news services and with the state as its founder.
According to Article 25 of the Hina Incorporation Act, "Hina shall earn its revenue based on the agreement with its founder, based on agreements with its subscribers, from other services which it provides within its scope of activity, and from donations."
Consequently, in May 2003, a framework agreement was signed with the founder which serves as a basis for annual agreements which Hina and the Culture Ministry sign regulating collective subscription to Hina's news services for the purpose of informing the state bodies and other budget beneficiaries.
Until the end of 2006 Hina's revenue from subscription agreements with all other users (primarily media) should exceed the amount of the income which Hina receives in line with the agreement with its founder.
Hina's mission to provide accurate and complete information is performed by about 20 general and specialised news departments that produce about 400 texts with over 150,000 words around the clock in the Croatian and English language.
Hina provides multimedia services and has its own photo service (Fah) and audio service, as well as the electronic database called Eva with about 1.5 million data.
Twenty four hours a day, about 500 users in the country and the world receive Hina's news items.
Hina employs 160 people, 130 of them being editors and journalists. In addition, about 60 part-time correspondents and collaborators in the country and the world work for Hina from time to time.
In 1993 Hina became a member of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA), an association which pools national news agencies from 30 European countries.
In accordance with EANA's Statute, "Members shall support the principles of freedom of the press and unbiased news". "To secure an economic and legal environment for news agencies operating in accordance with these rules is therefore one of EANA's main concerns," the alliance says.
EANA member-agencies, according to their ownership structure and editorial/business independence, can be categorized as: private agencies, co-operatives, combined agencies and public/state-run agencies.
According to this categorisation, since 2004 Hina has been classified into a group of combined agencies alongside the French AFP, the Czech CTK, the Polish PAP and Hungarian MTI.
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