Since 1951 Redefining Journalism

INDEPENDENT NEWS AGENCY

Turkish News and Worldwide News

Global yet Local

Timeline: Milestones & Legacy

1938

Late Kadri Kayabal began pursuing his journalistic ambition in late 1938 when he was 18 years old. He continued to become an esteemed journalist starting in the "Haber" Newspaper. He was a prominent journalist in Bab-i Ali and was the Chief-Executive Editor for many prominent newspapers, such as Cumhuriyet, Akşam, Ulus, and Hürriyet. He also held a position on the Board of Directors at the Turkish Journalists Association (Türkiye Gazeteciler Cemiyeti) and in 1956 he won the association's grand prize for his "Great Africa" report.

1950

In 1950 Kadri Kayabal founded Turkey's first privately-owned Turkish News Agency (Türk Haberler Ajansı). THA was the first private wire and news pictures service in Turkey after the state-owned Anadolu Agency (AA), which was initiated by Atatürk in 1920.

Starting from a stenciled news bulletin distributed by foot at a time when there were no teleprinters or computers, news was written on typewriters and dictated over barely audible telephone lines or sent by telegraphic dispatches using a special language called “cablese” to keep the number of words used down.

1961

Kadri Kayabal worked as the Middle East advisor at the London Express Syndicate in 1961. He also got the distribution rights of foreign press agencies such as London Express, Keystone Press, Camera Press, Press Association (UK), and United Press International (UPI), providing international news, news photos, and features to the Turkish press.

1963

THA first introduced telephoto transmissions and distributed the first in Turkey in 1963. THA became a link in UPI’s international multiplex system with 24-hour open telephone and telex lines to the worldwide news network. This was a pioneering step in the Turkish media sector that enabled the agency to communicate with UPI bureaus. Through this system, THA provided news and news pictures to newspapers in Turkey and also transmitted news and news pictures of events in this country for the international media.

1971

By the 1970s his THA (Turkish News Agency) had become Turkey’s largest privately-owned news and news pictures organization running 15 bureaus all over the country and employing more than 200 journalists and reporters. THA pioneered in introducing new technologies in Turkey, including the 16mm camera, sound-on-film cameras and the first Fax system in Turkey. news service

1974

THA’s Television Department, under Bedri Kayabal, was launched in the early 1970s providing news footage from Turkey and the Middle East to international broadcasters like ABC News, NBC, CBS, ITN, and others. Later, THA’s TV Dept. became the representative of UPITN (United Press Independent Television News), the television news provider branch of UPI, servicing news footage to broadcasters all over the world.

TIMELINE: MILESTONES & LEGACY

1975

Kadri Kayabal had a key role in creating the first “syndication” agency in Turkey by distributing his reports to daily newspapers and magazines. In 1975 he founded the ‘Politika’ newspaper together with Ercan Arıklı and İsmail Cem.

1982

After 1982 the television department of THA continued independently and became BBA – Bağımsız Basın Ajansı (Independent Press Agency). BBA upholds the tradition of THA as an independent news agency from one generation to the next. Television only provides services exclusively to international television media, cooperating with WTN Worldwide Television News. Through BBA’s partnership with the international networks of WTN (Worldwide Television News), BBA was the legal representative of WTN in Turkey, and our journalists and crew captured global events which were distributed to the whole world through the WTN network.

1984

Dateline Turkey was a high-profile weekly newspaper in the English language published in cooperation with Hürriyet, one of Turkey’s major national dailies. It was published between 1984 - 1990 mainly for British and American readers residing in Turkey. In television news gathering, the first magnetic tape U-Matic camera in Turkey was used by the BBA TV crews. The speedy advance in digital technologies was also closely followed and practiced by BBA.

1996

BBA became the first television agency to operate uplink equipment with direct access to international communication satellites, a capability previously reserved for the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). BBA has partnered with and provided services to a wide range of global clients including WTN, EBU, AP, BBC, and many others. Later WTN merged with AP (Associated Press) in 1998, and BBA continued to provide its services to AP upon request.

2000

Having marked the Millennium in front of the pyramids in Egypt transmitting the memorable concert by Jean Michel Jarre for the EBU, BBA enters its second half-century. World Cup in Germany, UCL finals in Athens, and many important events such as the Papal visits to various countries and Obama’s visit to Turkey were also reflected through the lenses of BBA journalists.

2001

BBA equipped itself with state-of-the-art facilities meeting EBU’s high standards of quality and reliability. BBA is one of EBU’s OSS premium partners in Europe. Eurovision's One-Stop Shop provides broadcasters a complete service of feed carriage over EBU’s satellite and fiber network with production options including stand-up positions, studios, and play-out facilities at a single point of contact. Today, BBA - Istanbul stands as one of the 11 satellite broadcast centers of EBU in Europe. BBA is one of the 11 premier partners of the Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union (EBU), providing satellite transmission services to its members and clients seven days a week, 24 hours a day.