Representatives of 90 news agencies from 80 countries gathered in this southern Spanish city of Estepona for the second World Congress to discuss the challenges the Internet age has brought on the media. The event was inaugurated by Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.
Access to big news events like the soccer World Cup and the Olympic Games is one the agencies' main concerns as they strive to report on such happenings in a dynamic, precise and accurate way.
Reporters' safety, piracy, the possibilities offered by the new technologies and the future trends for the agencies would also be issues discussed during the four-day World Congress of News Agencies, organized by Spain's Agencia EFE and the municipal government of Estepona. Preparations for the congress had been made in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi – host city the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Some 40 agencies have also submitted photographs for the first World Congress of News Agencies Photo Competition, which constitutes an excellent sampling of the photographic coverage of the most important events of the 21st century.
