Hamburg – September 10, 2026 -- dpa subsidiary news aktuell has launched "voices by na-connect," the first tool on the German communications market that feeds original video statements from executives and experts directly into the news cycle. The product went live today and will be presented at the Kommunikationskongress in Berlin on September 17-18.
Executives and experts record 60-second video statements to react to trending topics
The platform works by publishing "hooks" — short, attention-grabbing prompts on current debates — through news aktuell and select media partners. Registered users, called "voices," select a hook, film a vertical smartphone video of up to 60 seconds, and submit it for review. Once cleared by the news aktuell team, statements are bundled and distributed across multiple channels. CEOs, board members, subject-matter experts, communications officers and corporate influencers are the primary target users.
Distribution spans dpa's newsticker, YouTube Shorts, Instagram and 30-plus news portals
At launch, the news aktuell Network channels include the dpa-Newsticker, dpa News Hub, dpa Picture-Alliance, presseportal.de, YouTube Shorts, Instagram and more than 30 affiliated news portals. Journalists can pull the vertical-format videos directly for use in online and social publishing.
"Video is the dominant format, attention has become the scarcest resource, and relevance is created through genuine opinions," said Vithunan Lingeswaran, managing director of news aktuell, describing voices as a product at the intersection of PR, social video and journalism that did not previously exist on the German market.
Münchner Merkur and HNA join as launch partners under the Media Network option
An add-on "Media Network" lets partner outlets publish their own hooks within voices and distribute the resulting statements on their own social channels and, in some cases, their websites. News aktuell has signed Münchner Merkur and HNA as its first Media Network partners for the launch.
Every registered voice receives a permanent expert profile on both voices and presseportal.de, along with post-publication reporting on page views and web placements achieved for their statements.
Pilot testing since June covered energy, environment and health topics before wider rollout
News aktuell trialed the format from early June using hooks in energy, environment, and medicine and health, successfully placing initial expert statements in the news market. Today's launch opens voices to the full communications industry, with business, media and culture added as new topic categories.
voices by na-connect is sold as a one-year license, with news aktuell offering a three-month introductory package at launch.