Annual Report 2022

3 •

Back to war in Europe.

Above all, war reporting requires courage: the

AFP journalists and technicians who took part

in hundreds of missions this year along the

Ukrainian front-line demonstrated plenty of it.

Our experience of covering conflicts and our

logistical know-how counted for a lot and the

“AFP machine” swung efficiently into action on

February 24, 2022 – and in fact even a bit before

then. It has been crucial to stay nimble, as we

have had to constantly adjust our presence on

the ground depending on how the conflict was

progressing. It will be critical to stay the course,

as experts are saying this will be a long war: the

Agency will organise itself according and will

step up to the challenge, over the long-term, to

ensure flawless coverage.

Back to normal, post-pandemic:

‘Face-to-face’, ‘virtual’ and ‘hybrid working’ are

terms that have gradually become familiar to

everyone, except in China. After a year of reno-

vation work, our journalists are back together at

HQ, something they have been waiting a decade

for. We could finally travel again, the Agency was

revitalised, and this is reflected in this year’s

sales figures: +6%. This growth is down to video,

which continues to win market share, digital in-

vestigation, which has expanded its client base,

and Factstory, our content-on-demand subsi-

diary. But also – and this was new – the impact

of the deal signed with Google on neighbouring

rights which by definition is not growth that we

can reproduce in 2023

Back to inflation everywhere in the world.

Due to its global footprint, the Agency has been

exposed to often dramatic inflation rates in coun-

tries where it has significant staff. With its own

energy and transport costs rising significantly

everywhere, the Agency has had to find suitable

responses to the loss of purchasing power suf-

fered by its staff. In doing this, AFP took pains

not to jeopardise the collective efforts made in

the past and also took into account the worse-

ning economic prospects for many of its clients.

Extra costs due to inflation and measures to

satisfy often fair wage demands resulted in an

35-percent drop in operating income compared

to 2021, despite sustained growth. It has never

been more important to continue the work of

transforming the Agency.

Back to the future.

At the end of 2022, ChatGPT and its imitators

sparked shock, amusement, and concern in

equal measure. For AFP and its media clients,

the possibilities are huge, but so are the challen-

ges. Some will see generative artificial intelli-

gence as a formidable tool to boost productivity.

Others will see it as a new and scary weapon in

the disinformation arsenal. And it will probably

be both. Already AFP makes a significant part of

its turnover from the platforms: it’s not too risky

to bet that the Agency’s relations with ‘tech’ will

increasingly play a part in the success of its fu-

ture strategy.

EDITORIAL

FABRICE FRIES

CHAIRMAN & CEO

HIGHLIGHTS

CONTENTS

AFP IN NUMBERS

THE YEAR AS SEEN BY PHIL CHETWYND, GLOBAL NEWS DIRECTOR

THE YEAR AS SEEN BY DALILA ZEIN, MANAGING DIRECTOR

WAR IN UKRAINE

EXCLUSIVES

INTERVIEW - SOPHIE HUET, GLOBAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

QATAR WORLD CUP

SCOOP AT THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY CONGRESS

2022 IN SUMMARY

ELECTIONS IN FRANCE

3 QUESTIONS TO JESSICA LOPEZ – DIVERSITY

DIGITAL INVESTIGATION ONLINE TRAINING

3 QUESTIONS TO CHRISTINE BUHAGIAR EUROPEAN MEDIA PROJECTS

INTERVIEW OTMAN MERICHE FACTSTORY MANAGING DIRECTOR

NEW FORMAT: AFP SOCIAL STORIES

THE YEAR AS SEEN BY PATRICE MONTI, SALES AND MARKETING DIRECTOR

ORGANISATIONAL CHART

PRIZES AWARDS

CONTACTS ADRESSES

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