Beijing – Reuters (LSE: RTR; NASDAQ: RTRSY) and Xinhua today announced they will undertake an intensive two-week training programme for Xinhua journalists who will cover the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Reuters and Xinhua will fund the programme for 30 reporters and editors from Xinhua, the official news agency of China. Alongside this, Reuters will lead a half day session on Olympic Games reporting for 100 sports reporters from other Chinese media.

The two-week workshop, starting this week, will be the first of a series of events, celebrating the 50th anniversary of cooperation between Reuters and Xinhua news agency.

Peng Shujie, Vice Editor and Chief of Xinhua who attended the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games training program said: “Xinhua and Reuters have launched comprehensive cooperation programs in the past 50 years, and have reached many consensus. This is the first of a series of events, celebrating the 50th anniversary of cooperation between Xinhua news agency and Reuters.”

Xu Jicheng, Deputy Director of Media Operations Department in Beijing Organizing Committee for 2008 Olympics said: “More than 10,000 athletes will participate at 2008 Olympics, together with about 21,600 registered journalists and 10,000 non-registered journalists. The Olympics is not only the coliseum for athletes, but also for journalists. We hope that when Liu Xiang crosses the finishing line, Xinhua and Reuters will deliver the message to users at the same time.”

Alex Hungate, Managing Director of Reuters Asia said: “We are very pleased to be running the Olympic Games training programme for a group of journalists from Xinhua alongside a half day session for other Chinese reporters. For any nation the Olympic Games is a moment the world looks on, and for a sports journalist one of the most crucial moments of their reporting life.”

“Xinhua journalists will work closely alongside seasoned Reuters sports editors to learn some of the important techniques of Olympic reporting. Xinhua is the official domestic news agency covering the Olympic Games, and we hope that this two week session is valuable in preparing their professional reporters and editors for the task of covering one of the world's greatest sporting events,” Hungate added.

The workshop is a mixture of discussion and writing exercises, which will range from general topics, such as Gearing up for the Games: Reuters experience, Olympic background, to Xinhua's role as Olympic host news agency.

The group will also examine case studies on Olympic reporting such as the coverage of the Sydney 400m gold medal winner Cathy Freeman, to the broader issue of media coverage of doping at the Games. In addition sessions will look at technical issues like how to construct news features with soft topics.

The Olympic reporting course is being led by two veteran ex-Reuters journalists – Steve Parry and Brian Williams, each with more than 30 years of experience with Reuters editorial, including more than 20 years of experience covering the Olympics Games.
With long experience of covering the Olympics, Reuters will be sending an extensive team of journalists, photographers, cameramen and graphics specialists to the Beijing Games. They will cover all 28 sports at the Games which run from August 8th to August 24th 2008. Reuters will be the newsroom for the world at Beijing's biggest ever sporting event. The huge scale of the Reuters operation will ensure that breaking news and pictures are collected and distributed to clients around the world, often within minutes of a sporting event taking place. Ends

Note to Editors

Xinhua, official news agency of the country, is the national news agency of the host country for 2008 Beijing Olympics. Being an Olympics host agency, besides supplying Olympics news to its own domestic and overseas clients, Xinhua is expected to provide wide-ranging coverage which could be of value to accredited representatives of smaller news organizations which do not have the resources to cover all aspects of the Games. Xinhua is also expected to help accredited media understand Chinese cultural values and political and economic perspectives.

During the Athens Olympics games, Reuters dedicated news service went straight to client websites which were customized to fit, with their own look and feel. Reuters provided up to 400 pictures and around 150 headlines a day from a 200 strong multi-media team of journalists in Athens. It also provided detailed graphics explaining the rules and tactics of the key sports, a dynamic medals table, and comprehensive results updated in real time.
About the workshop leaders

Steve Parry –
• 34 years at Reuters, 18 years as Sports Editor
• 19 Summer and Winter Olympic Games
• 25 years on IOC Press Commission
• IOC and London 2012 media operations consultant

Brian Williams –
• 37 years at Reuters, covering Vietnam, Cambodia and Iraq wars, earthquakes, floods - and Madonna's wedding
• Chief News Editor, Americas; Chief Correspondent in a dozen countries
• Covered 7 Olympic Games; Editor-in-charge for Sydney, Athens Games

Contact:

Eileen Wise + 44 207 542 9697 or mob: + 44 7712 674040
or Sophie Brendel + 44 207 542 0496 or mob: + 44 7966 274398
Reuters Corporate Communictions
Email: Eileen.wise@reuters.com or Sophie.brendel@reuters.com

Liam Hwee Tay Reuters Asia
Email : liam.tay@reuters.com
Tel: +65 68703028 +65 98193895

About Reuters:
Reuters (www.reuters.com), the global information company, provides indispensable information tailored for professionals in the financial services, media and corporate markets. Through reuters.com and other digital properties, Reuters now also supplies its trusted content direct to individuals. Reuters drives decision making across the globe based on a reputation for speed, accuracy and independence. Reuters has 16,900 staff in 94 countries, including 2,400 editorial staff in 196 bureaux serving 131 countries.

About Xinhua News Agency

Xinhua has a complete news coverage and release system featuring multiple channels, functions, tiers and means. In China, it releases daily, via special circuits various types of news items, totaling 400,000 characters, to newspapers, radio stations and TV stations in the county, prefecture and provincial levels, as well as to evening newspapers and specialized newspapers.

Overseas, it releases around the clock news items totaling 400,000 words in seven languages, i.e. Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabian and Portuguese. It also releases economic information totalling 400,000 words daily to Chinese and foreign clients. Moreover, it provides nearly 100 news photo plates a day. To date, it has established a huge news and information user network at home and abroad.

Xinhua has modernized its communications technology. It has a satellite communications and transmission network, and has introduced 10 computerized information processing systems covering text editing, photo processing, news communications, economic information and data indexing. It has a transmission network including satellite communications and the Internet. It has formed a news communications system.

The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC.