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Zagreb - The parliamentary media committee on Thursday supported, with 12 votes in favour and one abstention, by Homeland Movement MP Karolina Vidović Krišto, changes to Hina's statute that will enable the national news agency to use drones.
Hina director Branka Gabriela Vojvodić said that the agency offered all media outlets in the country various content from the country and the rest of the world, including photos and videos, news schedules, and infographics, and that by using drones it would expand the range of its products and improve the quality of its services.
There is significant demand for aerial recordings, for example, of sports and cultural events and things such as traffic accidents, traffic jams, and natural disasters, she noted.
She said that since 2013 Hina had invested significant funds in technological development and had solid technical equipment, as evidenced by uninterrupted services during the March 22 earthquake and the coronavirus epidemic.
Committee members from the ruling majority and the opposition supported the expansion of Hina's services and investment in innovation, using the ensuing debate also to commend Hina's work.
- Hina is a public institution that does its job very well, reporting about different views, and web portals often carry its articles, said Vilim Matula of the We Can! platform, expressing hope that with new market opportunities the agency would also be able to pay its journalists better.
Goran Ivanović (HDZ) said that the agency employees' wage indices had not changed since 2003. -That should be put on the table and we should discuss it and see what can be done about it, said Ivanović.
Hina's work was also commended by the representative of the Czech and Slovak minorities, Vladimir Bilek, Dario Hrebak of the HSLS party, and Zvane Brumnić of the SDP. They expressed hope the agency would continue with digital innovation and be able to procure a larger number of drones to cover the entire country.