Russian news agency TASS, the country's first unified body for distributing official information, will turn 120 years old on September 1, 2024. TASS started as the St. Petersburg Telegraph Agency, which opened its doors on September 1, 1904.
TASS is one of the most cited Russian news agencies, publishing nearly 3,000 news items in six languages and about 700 photographs and videos from correspondents in Russia and across the world daily, forming a complete and objective picture of events. In 2023, over 2.7 million piecesof content of various types were released across all TASS platforms.
Over 1,700 employees ensure the agency's operation in real time.
Regional information centers in St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg, in addition to 67 offices in Russia’s regions, along with 59 global branches in 54 countries enable TASS to quickly receive and disseminate unbiased information about events in Russia and the world to the widest possible audience.
TASS is the only mass media outlet in the world that has its own news office in space, at the International Space Station. In 2021, the first TASS special correspondent, cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, took his post at the ISS, later replaced by Oleg Artemyev, and then Dmitry Petelin. Since September 15, 2023, Oleg Kononenko, deputy chief of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Center, commander of the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Squadron, has been working as TASS’ special correspondent in space.
TASS subscribers, including Russian and foreign media, as well as federal and regional government bodies, diplomatic missions of foreign states, business structures and public organizations, have access to a wide range of topic-oriented services across 70 news feeds in all official UN languages - English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French.
The TASS data bank contains tens of millions of documents, which allows the agency to accompany almost any news with comprehensive information about the event.
The audience of tass.ru, which is one of Russia's largest online media platforms, surpassed 147 mln users in 2023. The number of unique visitors per month exceeded 18 mln. TASS content is presented in all social networks available in Russia, with the number of unique followers exceeding 4.04 million in 2023. TASS posts and videos amassed over 3.7 bln views.
TASS special projects award prizes at the most prestigious Russian and international competitions. The topics of the special projects cover various spheres of society, including history (Without a Tsar at the Head), music (The Orchestra Man), rescue operations (Fallen Missing), space exploration (The Light of Distant Planets), and the creation of sports arenas (95 Years of Dynamo Stadium). TASS also produces video podcasts (New Faces - about how students develop startups, Motor and Oil - how to prolong the life of your car), thematic podcasts (audio guide to Moscow Romanovs on the Threshold of the Accession, Twelve Friends of Jung, dedicated to Carl Gustav Jung's theory of archetypes), 3D excursions (Platform of the Future - about oil production on the Caspian shelf, Kazan Digital Week - about digital technologies changing entire industries), large-scale contests and promos (#TECNO_HappinessInMoment).
Modern media resources and digital projects are being developed under the TASS brand. These include the information and educational project “This is the Caucasus” about how people live in the North Caucasus, as well as the project “Newm and TD” aimed at children and teenagers, producing animated videos that are presented on VKontakte, TikTok and YouTube.
The agency's employees regularly win professional competitions. In 2023, they received about 300 awards and commendations.
Mediabank TASS numbers nearly 50 mln pieces of content, including contemporary photographs and video reports by TASS correspondents in Russia and abroad, as well as materials from the agency's Russian and foreign partners, along with stock photos, infographics and archived photographs from the end of the 19th century.
Stock content appeared in the Mediabank TASS in 2023. Thematic stock collections are constantly updated with images by Russian and foreign authors. All of them are available in high quality, while extended rights allow them to be used for any purpose. The content is suitable for creating advertising, souvenirs, special projects, SMM-campaigns and any other tasks requiring visual support.
TASS is active in the development of information technology, with its key contributions here – platforms for distributing information-analytical and visual content.
The news terminal and mediabank offer users broad technical capabilities in working with large volumes of various data. TASS is also a leader in media marketing, including on its website tass.ru.
TASS press centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Novosibirsk host more than 1,500 media events annually. They are attended by Russian and foreign political leaders, representatives of the largest Russian and foreign companies, as well as prominent figures from the world of culture, science and sports.
In January 2024, a new TASS press center was opened in Stavropol. It operates in the Regional Information Center of the Stavropol Region, established on the site of the Stavropol State Agrarian University.
TASS hosts major business events, inviting key experts, opinion shapers, top officials and CEOs, scientists and cultural figures to discuss important global and domestic issues.
These include a SPIEF discussion panel and a presentation of the results of the national rating of the investment climate in Russian constituent entities at SPIEF-2023, events for winners and prize-winners of the All-Russian Exporter of the Year contest in all federal districts of Russia, economic forums in the Chelyabinsk and Tyumen regions, and educational programs for journalists. TASS is also the operator of the business program of the International Construction Championships.
In 2023, TASS was a media partner for around 190 federal events.
TASS has a unique educational center – the Academy of News. Its training programs are designed specifically for journalists, content managers, PR and press service staff.
TASS maintains partnerships with more than 200 media sources from 112 countries.
TASS takes an active role in the work of major global and regional media associations, being a member of the World Media Summit (WMS), News Agencies World Congress (NAWC), the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA), and the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA).
The agency also cooperates with the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA), the Atlantic Federation of African News Agencies (FAAPA) and other regional associations of global news agencies.
TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov has chaired the CIS Council of Heads of State News Agencies (CIS Information Council) since its creation.
Mikhail Gusman, First Deputy Director General of TASS, heads the Russian National Committee at the UNESCO International Program for the Development of Communication, and has a seat on the UNESCO Intergovernmental Council on Information and Communications and the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO.
TASS established the World Association of Russian Press (WARP) — the only global association of Russian-speaking journalists.
TASS offers the following services as part of its work in the IT field:
· Access to photographs, as well as copyrighted content from the TASS Mediabank (on the basis of an agreement);
· Access to information materials, as well as copyrighted content from the TASS Terminal (on the basis of an agreement);
· Publication and distribution of advertisements on its website.