Cna

Market position

CNA describes itself as the ROC's oldest and largest news agency and the most influential news organization in Taiwan, and the only multilingual news platform in the country. A 2015 Taiwan Media Watch survey found Taiwanese journalists regarded CNA as the most reliable Taiwanese media outlet, and the Reuters Institute's 2018 Digital News Report found CNA's real-time news was considered more trustworthy than that of other Taiwanese outlets.

Statutory national news agency status, multilingual output in Chinese, English, Japanese and Indonesian, an overseas correspondent network across roughly 30 locations, and a stated editorial standard emphasising accuracy, speed, objectivity and comprehensiveness rather than sensational headlines.

Technology

CNA was the first news organization in Taiwan to computerize its news operations, in 1990, and has since developed mobile applications for smartphones and tablets delivering news stories, photos, videos and graphics. Its Media Lab, opened in July 2018 with technology from the Institute for Information Industry, supports digital news coverage and reading experience. The agency states its mobile site is faster than 90 percent of news websites in Taiwan.

Go-to-market

Distribution combines owned properties — the Chinese cna.com.tw site, the English Focus Taiwan site, Japanese and Indonesian editions, mobile apps, podcasts, newsletters and e-books — with syndication to Taiwanese and foreign media outlets and content partnerships. Media partners named by CNA include the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Deutsche Welle, Bloomberg, European Pressphoto Agency, Yonhap News Agency, Anadolu Agency, Thai TV Colour Channel 3, Kyodo News, Lusa News Agency, Antara News, Sputnik International, Montsame News Agency and Nikkei Telecom, along with Japanese web portals Yahoo, Livedoor and Excite.

Taiwanese general readers, overseas Chinese-speaking audiences and international readers seeking news about Taiwan, plus media organizations and mobile carriers that republish CNA wire content.

Geography

Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan (No. 209 Songjiang Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei 104472). CNA reports having the largest number of overseas correspondents of any Taiwanese media organization, with a presence in some 30 locations worldwide.

History

CNA was founded in Guangzhou, China on April 1, 1924, and reported on the Northern Expedition, the War of Resistance against Japan, Taiwan's handover from Japanese rule, and the Chinese Civil War; its frontline war correspondents helped establish it as, by its own account, the world's fifth-largest news agency. In 1949 the agency relocated to Taiwan with the ROC government and covered subsequent events including the Kinmen artillery bombardment, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the ROC's exit from the United Nations, and the severing of US diplomatic ties. Alongside Taiwan's democratization, CNA was restructured into a nonprofit corporation and designated the country's national news agency under a law passed by the Legislative Yuan in 1996. It computerized its news operations in 1990, launched the online video program "CNA Global View" on April 1, 2010, began rolling out mobile applications from April 1, 2011, and opened its Media Lab in July 2018 using technology from the Institute for Information Industry.