Lusa News Agency


The Lusa News Agency, literally Lusa - Portuguese News Agency, is the largest news agency in Portugal, as well as the largest news agency in Portuguese Language, incorporated on 28 November 1986 under the name of Agência Lusa — Cooperativa de Interesse Público de Responsabilidade Limitada or simply Lusa - CIPRL, following the extinction of the earlier Portuguese news agency ANOP Agência Noticiosa Portuguesa. Lusa is a member of, and participates in, the Agência Europeia de Fotografia.

History

The first news agency created in Portugal was the Agência Noticiosa Lusitânia, or simply Lusitânia, created in 1944. In 1947 another agency was created, ANI - Agência Noticiosa de Informação. In 1974, the new regime that ascended power on April 25, wound up the Lusitânia and nationalised the ANI, turning it into ANOP - Agência Noticiosa Portuguesa.
Due to financial difficulties and other problems with ANOP, the government decides to abolish it in 1982, and support the creation of another agency, this time in the private sector, the NP - Notícias de Portugal. However the extinction of ANOP was vetoed by the president and both began to coexist. In 1986, both NP and ANOP were finally wound up and the Lusa agency was created.
Although abolished in December 1986, a decree signed by then Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva, and promulgated by the President, Mario Soares, the order that determines the "closing by liquidation" of ANOP, was published in the Official Gazette only in March 2014. The last members of the liquidation committee were to return the "excess remunerations" for 2010 and 2011. That was because the 5% cut in salaries in the public and for similar managers, provided by law, also passed in 2010 in the government of José Sócrates had not been applied.

Operations

Lusa has more than 280 journalists working for it, spread throughout the world. In addition to the major cities of Portugal, Lusa has permanent branches or correspondents in Belgium, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, Russia, Estonia, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, India, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Africa, Algeria, East Timor, Macau, China, Brazil, Venezuela, United States, Canada and Australia.
Lusa provides a news service to numerous newspapers, radio and Portuguese TV channels. It also provides news to the media of the Portuguese communities throughout the world. Starting on January 30, 2010, the Lusa agency began using the Orthographic Agreement of 1990 in all its news dispatches.
An important activity of the Lusa news service is also to provide news to the news agencies of the Portuguese-speaking African countries. and also share the services of Lusa to various public and private institutions. It is part of the :pt:Aliança das Agências de Informação de Língua Portuguesa|Alliance of Portuguese Language Information Agencies.

Awards

On September 24, 2010 Lusa was bestowed with the "Award of Excellence and Quality of Work 2010" awarded by the European Alliance of News Agencies, through its technical director Paulo Nogueira dos Santos. In 2012, the Lusa agency was awarded the insignia of the Order of Timor-Leste by the former president of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta.

Shareholders

Its stock capital is held by
ProportionShareholders
50,14 %República Portuguesa
23,36 %Global Media Group
22,35 %Impresa
2,72 %Notícias de Portugal
1,38 %Público
0,03 %Rádio e Televisão de Portugal
0,01 %O Primeiro de Janeiro
0,01 %:pt:Diário do Minho|Diário do Minho