DILI, 29 july 2022 (TATOLI) – Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Social Communication, Francisco Martins da Costa Pereira Jerónimo urged Timor-Leste News Agency or TATOLI to maintain its impartiality and neutrality in delivering information to the public.
Minister Jerónimo made the comments at the seminar organized by TATOLI to commemorate the sixth anniversary of TATOLI.
The theme of the seminar: “Strengthening the role of TATOLI to improve the public’s knowledge of science and technology through information.
Impartiality suggests that news stories be reported in an unbiased, even-handed, and impartial manner. Under this notion, journalists are to side with none of the parties involved, and simply provide the relevant facts and information of all.
“I want news stories produced by TATOLI to be quick and credible to serve the public with trustworthy information,” he said.
He said TATOLI must adhere to its vision and mission to reach its goal of serving the community with credible information in a timely manner.
Jerónimo pledged that MAPKOMS will support TATOLI, but said first, TATOLI has to prepare its Future Strategic Action Plan and present it to MAPKOMS.
“TOTAL is a public institute that independently manages its finance and administration. TATOLI is not alone, as MAPKOMS will support its Future Strategic Action Plan to achieve its goal in the future,” he said.
Minister Jerónimo reiterated: “With the sixth anniversary of the TATOLI, it’s important for the institution to evaluate whether it has achieved its goal. So, TATOLI needs to undertake a close and careful evaluation of what it has achieved so far during those years.”
He said the Government will support TATOLI to achieve its dream of becoming the source of information to other international and local media.
“My last and important message on the celebration of the sixth anniversary of TATOLI is that it must serve the public with credible information to contribute to the common good and for the benefit of all people. TATOLI needs to be impartial in reporting and serving the public with information. As a state media, TATOLI must consider public services as its top priority,” Jerónimo concluded.
Jerónimo thanked former Secretary of State for Communications, Nelio Isaac Sarmento for the establishment of the TATOLI in 2007 under his leadership.
The key speakers at the seminar included Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Social Communication, Francisco Martins da Costa Pereira Jerónimo, the representative of the Secretary of State for Equality and Inclusion, Maria Filomena Babo Martins, the former Secretary of State for Communications, Nelio Isaac Sarmento, the former President of TATOLI, José da Costa, Language Revisor of the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Profesór Ricardo Antunes, Fr. Bento Barros Perreira, the Prsident of Board of Director of TATOLI, Manuel Pinto, and moderator João Câncio Freitas.
Timor-Leste News Agency or TATOLI always strives to provide fair, accurate, and reliable information to the national and international audience.
TATOLI is a national news agency delivering news across the country and the world in four different languages; Tetum, Portuguese, English, and Indonesian.
TATOLI was established following the decision of the Council of Ministers (CoM) on February 3, 2016, which was published in the Official Gazette of the President of the Republic march 16, 2016.
It was officially launched by former Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araújo, on june 27, 2016.
On march 7, 2017, the Council of Ministers approved the creation of TATOLI – Timor-Leste News Agency (in Portuguese: “TATOLI – Agência Noticiosa de Timor-Leste, IP”). The decision came following the creation of a news portal, then called ANTIL, in march of 2016. The main objective of TATOLI is to be the source of official information, with the production of information for national, regional, and international audiences. With a multichannel, multimedia, multiplatform and multitasking character, the News Agency may evolve and serve as a center for the production of cinema and State documentation, as a public opinion institute, as a forum for public information, as a center for the management of archives and State documentation, and as a center for communication applied training and research.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
