AFP Launches MediaConnect, a Subsidiary Serving PR Professionals and Journalists

USA - English

• France - Français

PARIS, May 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MediaConnect, an AFP subsidiary, will offer an innovative service that will facilitate and simplify relations between journalists and public relations professionals from businesses, institutions and NGOs.

Through this platform, which will also be available for mobile, journalists will be able to freely access a wide range of content: press releases, photos, audio, video, live events, broadcasters' agendas, archives and image banks.

They will be able to receive notifications about their choice of topics and customize how they use the platform according to their priorities.

MediaConnect will use encryption technology to ensure the absolute security of sensitive material and prevent the publication of fake statements.

With MediaConnect, public relations professionals will be able to promote, enhance and target their messages in both French and English.

The platform, which mainly will target the French market in the first instance, also offers the possibility of managing the distribution of content on an international scale and to measure its impact through a series of tools.

The public will have access to MediaConnect and will be able to consult announcements from companies, institutions and organisations at source.

The platform will be fully operational by mid-June. MediaConnect will then become available to business, institutions and organisations and will offer newsroom training.

AFP chairman Fabrice Fries said: "With this new subsidiary, we continue to develop media services with a unique tool, in line with our core business and areas of expertise."

The platform was designed in partnership with the company Epresspack, one of the main suppliers of turnkey press sites to companies and institutions. This technological expertise complements AFP's know-how in multimedia content management and its understanding of journalists' requirements.

"We are very proud of this technological, commercial and financial partnership with AFP", said Antoun Sfeir, CEO and founder of Epresspack. "It is a recognition of the innovative solutions we have been developing for 10 years for the benefit of companies and their reputations".

AFP has named Anne Boussarie as managing director of its new subsidiary. This media industry professional has over 20 years of international sales and marketing experience.

 "Our ambition is to offer the largest virtual media centre for public relations professionals and a working tool for journalists, which will become indispensable to them all", she said.

About AFP

AFP is a leading global news agency providing fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the events shaping our world and of the issues affecting our daily lives. Drawing from an unparalleled news gathering network across 151 countries, AFP is also a world leader in digital verification. With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world in six languages, with a unique quality of multimedia storytelling spanning video, text, photos and graphics.

About Epresspack

Epresspack is the communication showcase for 300 major brands and multi-sector companies (30% in the CAC 40 and 10% in the FOOTSIE 100). A publisher and SAAS specialist, this French tech player deploys content platforms (publication, certification, distribution, live, audience analysis, workplace) dedicated to the reputation issues of brands and companies. Founded and chaired by Antoun Sfeir, the start-up - whose economic model is based on subscriptions - has a turnover of 4M€ (+20%) and 50 employees (Paris, London, Milan and Madrid).

About MediaConnect

An independent subsidiary of the global news agency AFP, MediaConnect is a platform that seeks to facilitate and optimise relations between information professionals and communications officers for companies, institutions and NGOs. For journalists, access will be free for content where the source is certified, in an environment which allows them to customise content and be alerted about the information of their choice. For communications officers, it will be the ideal tool to showcase their messages in front of their target audience.

SOURCE AFP