New York, Aug 4 (AP/UNB) — The Associated Press appointed Daisy Veerasingham, its executive vice president and chief operating officer, as the news cooperative’s president and CEO on Tuesday, setting her up to replace the retiring Gary Pruitt at the beginning of next year. She will become the first woman, first person of color and first person from outside of the United States to lead the AP in its 175-year history. Veerasingham, 51, is a first-generation Briton of Sri Lankan descent. Her appointment speaks to the changing portrait of the AP, where 40% of the company’s revenue, double what it was 15 years ago, is now generated outside of the United States. She’ll be tasked with continuing to diversify income sources. The AP, caught in the same financial vise as most of the media industry, saw its revenue drop to $467 million in 2020, down more than 25% in a decade. Veerasingham said she’s determined to maintain the AP as a source of fact-based, nonpartisan journalism, and to fight for freedom of the press and access to information. The AP produces roughly 2,000 news stories, 3,000 photos and 200 videos every day, reaching more than half the world’s population. READ: Unilever Bangladesh appoints Zaved Akhtar as CEO, MD  As its core business of selling news to newspapers and broadcasters began shrinking, the AP has broadened its licensing efforts to other areas, like business and academia. It has also built a business licensing old photos and video, the latter through the purchase of a company that owned old movie newsreels. AP also makes money by providing studio space and news equipment to organizations, selling news software and election vote-counting and surveys. Further diversification efforts are underway, including offering customized news reports and managing video for auctions held by companies like Sotheby’s, Veerasingham said. “The AP is probably on the most solid footing it’s been on for a very long time,” she said. “I don’t think the world needs to worry about the future of The Associated Press. Do we have challenges ahead? Yeah, we’ve got to diversify our revenue and we’ve got to stabilize revenue in our core. But I think that is something we can actually do in the next three years because of the financial strength we’ve built.” READ: WHO Foundation appoints Anil Soni as CEO   Like many other companies, AP is expected to head back to offices in the next few months, although a hybrid approach that includes working from home will be in place at the start. One of the things working through the pandemic taught her about AP “is that we are capable of much more than we thought we were,” she said. Veerasingham worked in marketing jobs at LexisNexis and the Financial Times before joining AP. A trained lawyer, she has not worked as a journalist. READ: UK appoints Champion to support developing countries to deal with climate change Upon retirement, Pruitt said he planned to split time between California and New York, and looks forward to taking classes at the University of California-San Diego.

The Associated Press’ top editor on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a Gaza City building housing the AP, broadcaster Al-Jazeera and other media, saying the public deserves to know the facts. Sally Buzbee, AP’s executive editor, said the Israeli government has yet to provide clear evidence supporting its attack, which leveled the 12-story al-Jalaa tower. The Israeli military, which gave AP journalists and other tenants about an hour to evacuate, claimed Hamas used the building for a military intelligence office and weapons development. Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Israel was compiling evidence for the U.S. but declined to commit to providing it within the next two days. Also read: Israel strike in Gaza destroys building with AP, other media “We’re in the middle of fighting,” Conricus said Sunday. “That’s in process and I’m sure in due time that information will be presented.” Buzbee said the AP has had offices in al-Jalaa tower for 15 years and never was informed or had any indication that Hamas might be in the building. She said the facts must be laid out. “We are in a conflict situation,” Buzbee said. “We do not take sides in that conflict. We heard Israelis say they have evidence; we don’t know what that evidence is.” Also read: AP 'horrified' by Israeli attack on its office “We think it’s appropriate at this point for there to be an independent look at what happened yesterday — an independent investigation,” she added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday repeated Israel’s claim that the building housed an intelligence office of Hamas. Asked if he had relayed supporting evidence of that in a call with President Joe Biden on Saturday, Netanyahu said “we pass it through our intelligence people.” Buzbee said the AP journalists were “rattled” after the airstrike but are doing fine and reporting the news. She expressed concern about the impact on news coverage. Also read: Israeli military says it bombed home of a top Hamas leader “This does impact the world’s right to know what is happening on both sides of the conflict in real time,” she said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone Saturday with AP’s president and CEO, Gary Pruitt. The State Department said Blinken offered “his unwavering support for independent journalists and media organizations around the world and noted the indispensability of their reporting in conflict zones.” Buzbee and Conricus spoke on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” and Netanyahu was on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

A spike in coronavirus infections linked to a slaughterhouse in Germany's western region prompted officials to imposed new lockdown measures on Tuesday to make sure the cluster doesn’t spread in the community.