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52-620: The Russian News Agency TASS , or simply TASS , is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterprise , owned by the government of Russia . Headquartered in Moscow, it has 70 offices in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), "along with 56 global branches in 53 countries". In

104-476: A building in the Soviet brutalist style built in 1977. In November 2021, an association of Russian architects criticized plans by Moscow city authorities to renovate the building without due regard for the preservation of its historic appearance. TASS has been cited as a source of disinformation as part of Russian influence operations . As of March 2022, examples of propagation of disinformation in relation to

156-459: A central government news agency. The TASS acronym was, by this point, well-recognized around the world and so was retained after being redefined as the Telegraph agency of communication and messages (Russian: Телеграфное агентство связи и сообщения , romanized : Telegrafnoye agentstvo svazi i soobshcheniya ). The agency as a whole was referred to as "ITAR-TASS". In September 2014,

208-523: A government. These are media outlets that, while they may not be directly controlled by the state in terms of ownership, are effectively under government influence due to financial dependencies or managerial control. This category includes both public media that have lost their independence and private media that operate under significant government influence. These are media that manage to maintain high levels of independence in funding, governance, and editorial decisions. These media are primarily funded by

260-458: A method to combat efforts by protestors. Propaganda spread by state-media organizations can detract from accurate reporting and provide an opportunity for a regime to influence public sentiment. Mass protests against governments considered to be authoritarian, such as those in China, Russia, Egypt, and Iran are often distorted by state-run media organizations in order to defame protesters and provide

312-477: A positive light on the government's actions. It is common for countries with strict control of newspapers to have fewer firms listed per capita on their markets and less developed banking systems. These findings support the public choice theory, which suggests higher levels of state ownership of the press would be detrimental to economic and financial development. This is due to state media being commonly associated with autocratic regimes where economic freedom

364-539: A smaller collection known as "Red Tass". These collections were made available only to Soviet journalistic and political leaders, and to top journalists and political leaders, respectively. In 1961, Ria Novosti was created to supplement TASS, mainly in foreign reporting and human-interest stories. After 1971, TASS was elevated to the status of State Committee at the Government of the Soviet Union . The agency

416-591: A total state monopoly in the media like North Korea and Laos experience a "Castro effect", where state control is powerful enough that no journalistic harassment is required in order to restrict press freedom. Historically, state media also existed during the Cold War in authoritarian states such as the Soviet Union , East Germany , Republic of China (Taiwan) , Poland , Romania , Brazil and Indonesia . The public interest theory claims state ownership of

468-701: A vector for Soviet active measures . In January 1992, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union , a Presidential Decree signed by Boris Yeltsin re-defined the status of TASS and renamed it the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia . In May 1994, the Russian Government adopted a resolution " On approval of the Charter of the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia ", under which it operates as

520-452: Is a public good that benefits the nation in question. It contradicts the belief that all state media is propaganda and argues that most states require an unbiased, easily accessible, and reliable stream of information. Public interest theory suggests that the only way to maintain an independent media is to cut it off from any economic needs, therefore a state-run media organization can avoid issues associated with private media companies, namely

572-655: Is also referred to media entities that are administered, funded, managed, or directly controlled by the government of a country. Three factors that can affect the independence of state media over time are: funding, ownership/governance, and editorial autonomy. These entities can range from being completely state-controlled, where the government has full control over their funding, management, and editorial content, to being independent public service media , which, despite receiving government funding, operate with editorial autonomy and are governed by structures designed to protect them from direct political interference. State media

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624-473: Is beneficial, whereas the public choice theory suggests that state control undermines economic and political freedoms . The public interest theory , also referred to as the Pigouvian theory, states that government ownership of media is desirable. Three reasons are offered. Firstly, the dissemination of information is a public good, and to withhold it would be costly even if it is not paid for. Secondly,

676-408: Is considered at risk because it is susceptible to slipping into state control if the political or economic pressures increase. Its content, according to some sources, is usually more prescriptive, telling the audience what to think, particularly as it is under no pressure to attract high ratings or generate advertising revenue and therefore may cater to the forces in control of the state as opposed to

728-502: Is often associated with authoritarian governments that use state media to control, influence, and limit information. Media and Journalism Research Center uses State Media Matrix, a typology of state and public media that allows their classification according to three sets of factors that affect the independence of these media: funding, ownership/governance, and editorial autonomy. This category includes media outlets that are predominantly funded, managed, and editorially controlled by

780-461: Is part of a checks-and-balances system of a democracy , known as the Fourth Estate , along with the judiciary , executive and legislature . States are dependent on the public for their legitimacy that allows them to operate. The flow of information becomes critical to their survival, and public choice theory argues that states cannot be expected to ignore their own interests, and instead

832-635: Is severely restricted and there is a large amount of corruption within the economic and political system. TDH (news agency) Turkmenistan State News Agency (in Turkmen : Türkmenistanyň Döwlet habarlar agentligi ), sometimes shortened to TDH ( Russian : ТДХ ), is the state-owned news agency in Turkmenistan . TDH headquarters are in Bitarap Turkmenistan Avenue, Ashgabat . The agency publishes news and analysis of

884-526: The Journal of Democracy , " authoritarian or totalitarian media outlets" take advantage of both domestic and foreign media due to state censorship in their native countries and the openness of democratic nations to which they broadcast. He cites China's CCTV , Russia's RT , and Venezuela's TeleSUR as examples. Surveys find that state-owned television in Russia is viewed by the Russian public as one of

936-522: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine are as follows: State media State media serve as tools for public diplomacy and narrative shaping. These media outlets can broadcast via television, radio, print, and increasingly on social media, to convey government viewpoints to domestic and international audiences. The approach to using state media can vary, focusing on positive narratives, adjusting narratives retroactively, or spreading misinformation through sophisticated social media campaigns. State media

988-586: The Middle East and some Asian countries (with the exception of Japan , India , Indonesia , Mongolia , Nepal , the Philippines , South Korea and Thailand where large areas of private press exist.) Full state monopolies exist in China , Myanmar , and North Korea . Issues with state media include complications with press freedom and journalistic objectivity . According to Christopher Walker in

1040-690: The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (Телеграфное агентство Советского Союза, Telegrafnoye agentstvo Sovetskogo Soyuza, TASS) was established by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet , and took over the duties of the ROSTA as the country's central information agency. TASS enjoyed "exclusive right to gather and distribute information outside the Soviet Union, as well as the right to distribute foreign and domestic information within

1092-854: The Soviet Union, and manage the news agencies of the Soviet republics". Official state information was delivered as the TASS Report (Russian: Сообщение ТАСС , Soobshchyeniye TASS ). TASS included affiliated news agencies in all 14 (in 1940–56, 15) Soviet republics in addition to Russia: RATAU ( Ukrainian SSR , now Ukrinform ), BelTA ( Byelorussian SSR ), ETA ( Estonian SSR ), Latinform ( Latvian SSR , now LETA ), ELTA ( Lithuanian SSR ), ATEM ( Moldavian SSR , now Moldpres ), Armenpress ( Armenian SSR ), Gruzinform ( Georgian SSR ), Azerinform ( Azerbaijan SSR , now AZERTAC ), UzTAG ( Uzbek SSR , now UzA ), KazTAG ( Kazakh SSR , now Kazinform ), KyrTAG ( Kyrgyz SSR , now Kabar ), Turkmeninform ( Turkmen SSR , now TDH ) and TajikTA ( Tajik SSR , now Khovar ). Over

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1144-630: The Soviet period, it was named the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union ( Телеграфное агентство Советского Союза , Telegrafnoye agentstvo Sovetskogo Soyuza ) and was the central agency of the Soviet government for news collection and distribution for all Soviet newspapers, radio and television stations. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union , it was renamed Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (ITAR-TASS) ( Информационное телеграфное агентство России (ИТАР-ТАСС) , informatsionnoye telegrafnoye agentstvo Rossii (ITAR-TASS) ) in 1992, but reverted to

1196-635: The agency reverted to its former name as the Russian News Agency TASS . TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterprise , owned by the Government of Russia . Headquartered in Moscow, TASS has 70 offices in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), as well as 68 bureaus around the world. TASS multi-media press center is a communication floor in the heart of Moscow. Every year it hosts some 300 events featuring high-ranking Russian officials, foreign heads of state, leaders of main political parties, representatives of

1248-580: The cost of the provision and dissemination of information is high, but once costs are incurred, marginal costs for providing the information are low and so are subject to increasing returns. Thirdly, state media ownership can be less biased, more complete and accurate if consumers are ignorant and in addition to private media that would serve the governing classes. However, Pigouvian economists, who advocate regulation and nationalisation , are supportive of free and private media. Public interest theory holds that when operated correctly, government ownership of media

1300-496: The country's most authoritative and trusted institutions. Nations such as Denmark, Norway and Finland that have both the highest degree of freedom of press and public broadcasting media. Compared to most autocratic nations which attempt to limit press freedom to control the spread of information. A 2003 study found that government ownership of media organizations was associated with worse democratic outcomes. "Worse outcomes" are associated with higher levels of state ownership of

1352-475: The determinants and consequences of ownership of the media. The public interest theory suggests that more benign governments should have higher levels of control of the media which would in turn increase press freedom as well as economic and political freedoms. Conversely, the public choice theory affirms that the opposite is true - "public spirited", benevolent governments should have less control which would increase these freedoms. Generally, state ownership of

1404-534: The exception of Belarus , Russia and Ukraine ) is mostly private and free of state control and ownership, along with North and South America (with the exception of Cuba and Venezuela ) The press "role" in the national and societal dynamics of the United States and Australia has virtually always been the responsibility of the private commercial sector since these countries' earliest days. Levels of state ownership are higher in some African countries,

1456-431: The forces in control of the corporation, as described in the propaganda model of the mass media. In more controlled regions, the state may censor content which it deems illegal, immoral or unfavorable to the government and likewise regulate any programming related to the media; therefore, it is not independent of the governing party. In this type of environment, journalists may be required to be members or affiliated with

1508-513: The government. It represents the highest level of state control over media entities. These outlets lack editorial independence , with the government controlling their editorial agenda in various ways. According to Facebook , state-controlled media are media outlets that Facebook believes may be partially or wholly under the editorial control of their government. State-controlled media extends beyond just assessing financial control or ownership and includes an assessment of editorial control exerted by

1560-403: The history other affiliates existed, e.g. KarelfinTAG for the short-lived Karelo-Finnish SSR (1940–56). In addition to producing reports for general consumption, TASS produced packages of content for non-public use. Western news reports and potentially embarrassing domestic news would be compiled daily into a collection known as "White Tass", and particularly sensitive news would be compiled into

1612-583: The main supplier of journalists. As the demand for non-business news began during the first battles of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904, the agency changed its name to the St. Petersburg Telegraph Agency (SPTA). As there was no change of headquarters and almost no change in its staff and function, it was a mere rebranding. In August 1914, one day after St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd, SPTA

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1664-406: The media is found in poor, autocratic non-democratic countries with highly interventionist governments that have some interest in controlling the flow of information. Countries with "weak" governments do not possess the political will to break up state media monopolies. Media control is also usually consistent with state ownership in the economy . As of 2002, the press in most of Europe (with

1716-511: The media, which would reject Pigouvian theory. The news media are more independent and fewer journalists are arrested, detained or harassed in countries with less state control. Harassment, imprisonment and higher levels of internet censorship occur in countries with high levels of state ownership such as Singapore , Belarus , Myanmar , Ethiopia , the People's Republic of China , Iran , Syria , Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan . Countries with

1768-470: The press can compromise election monitoring efforts and obscure the integrity of electoral processes. Independent media sees higher oversight by the media of the government. For example, reporting of corruption increased in Mexico , Ghana and Kenya after restrictions were lifted in the 1990s, but government-controlled media defended officials. Heavily influenced state media can provide corrupt regimes with

1820-429: The press enhances civil and political rights ; whilst under the public choice theory, it curtails them by suppressing public oversight of the government and facilitating political corruption . High to absolute government control of the media is primarily associated with lower levels of political and civil rights, higher levels of corruption, quality of regulation, security of property and media bias . State ownership of

1872-421: The prioritization of the profit motive. State media can be established as a mean for the state to provide a consistent news outlet while private news companies operate as well. The benefits and detriments of this approach often depend on the editorial independence of the media organization from the government. Many criticisms of public interest theory center on the possibility of true editorial independence from

1924-414: The public choice theory argue that the economic incentives involved in a public business force media organizations to stray from unbiased journalism and towards sensationalist editorials in order to capture public interest. This has become a debate over the effectiveness of media organizations that are reliant on the attention of the public. Sensationalism becomes the key focus and turns away from stories in

1976-404: The public interest in favor of stories that capture the attention of the most people. The focus on sensationalism and public attention can lead to the dissemination of misinformation to appease their consumer base. In these instances, the goal of providing accurate information to the public collapses and instead becomes biased toward a dominant ideology. Both theories have implications regarding

2028-413: The public, either through taxation or a specific license fee. This funding model is designed to insulate them from commercial pressures and government influence, ensuring that their programming decisions are made in the public interest. These media entities receive funding from the state and may have some level of state involvement in their management, but they maintain editorial independence. This category

2080-592: The ruling party, such as in the Eastern Bloc former Socialist States the Soviet Union , China or North Korea . Within countries that have high levels of government interference in the media, it may use the state press for propaganda purposes: Additionally, the state-controlled media may only report on legislation after it has already become law to stifle any debate. The media legitimizes its presence by emphasizing "national unity" against domestic or foreign "aggressors". In more open and competitive contexts,

2132-572: The simpler TASS name in 2014. Currently, on a daily basis TASS is "publishing nearly 3,000 news items in six languages and about 700 photographs and videos from correspondents in Russia and across the world". The origin of TASS dates back to December 1902 when it began operations as the Commercial Telegraph Agency (TTA, Torgovo-Telegrafnoe Agentstvo) under the Ministry of Finance, with Torgovo-Promyshlennaya Gazeta's staff being

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2184-491: The socio-political, socio-economic, cultural and sporting life of the state in Turkmen, Russian and English languages. Agency specialists are engaged in the development, technical and information support, and promotion of web sites relating to the culture of Turkmenistan. The current editor-in-chief of TDH is Bekdurdy Amansaryev Two small, private news agencies, Infoabad and Arzuw, also exist. Telegraph Agency of Turkmenistan

2236-433: The sources of information must remain as independent from the state as possible. Public choice theory argues that the only way to retain independence in a media organization is to allow the public to seek the best sources of information themselves. This approach is effective at creating a free press that is capable of criticizing government institutions and investigating incidents of government corruption. Those critical of

2288-416: The state may control or fund its own outlet and is in competition with opposition-controlled and/or independent media. The state media usually have less government control in more open societies and can provide more balanced coverage than media outside of state control. State media outlets usually enjoy increased funding and subsidies compared to private media counterparts, but this can create inefficiency in

2340-467: The state media. However, in the People's Republic of China , where state control of the media is high, levels of funding have been reduced for state outlets, which have forced Chinese Communist Party media to sidestep official restrictions on content or publish "soft" editions, such as weekend editions, to generate income. Two contrasting theories of state control of the media exist; the public interest or Pigouvian theory states that government ownership

2392-639: The state to legitimize their actions. The public choice theory asserts that state-owned media would manipulate and distort information in favor of the ruling party and entrench its rule and prevent the public from making informed decisions, which undermines democratic institutions. That would prevent private and independent media, which provide alternate voices allowing individuals to choose politicians, goods, services, etc. without fear from functioning. Additionally, that would inhibit competition among media firms that would ensure that consumers usually acquire unbiased, accurate information. Moreover, this competition

2444-519: The state. While there is little profit motive, the media organization must be funded by the government instead which can create a dependency on the government's willingness to fund an entity may often be critical of their work. The reliability of a state-run media outlet is often heavily dependent on the reliability of the state to promote a free press, many state-run media outlets in western democracies are capable of providing independent journalism while others in authoritarian regimes become mouthpieces for

2496-418: The world of arts and culture, scientists and sporting personalities as well as managers of Russian and foreign business enterprises. TASS press centers also operate in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk. TASS is a media partner of high-profile conferences, forums and exhibitions in Russia and abroad. The agency organized the first News Agencies World Congress (NAWC) in 2004. TASS is headquartered in

2548-661: Was frequently used as a front organization by the Soviet intelligence agencies, such as the NKVD (later KGB ) and Main Intelligence Directorate , with TASS employees serving as informants abroad. In 1959, Alexander Alexeyev was dispatched to Cuba on a fact-finding mission, ostensibly working for TASS. Former Georgetown University professor James David Atkinson stated that TASS was an "effective propaganda medium" but that it concentrated "more heavily on espionage than on other activities." TASS frequently served as

2600-681: Was opened in 1924, shortly after the declaration of Ashgabat as the capital of the Turkmen SSR . In 1925 it was renamed to the Turkmen Telegraph Agency (TurkmenTAG) with the status of a republican organ of the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union ( TASS ). In the mid-1970s, it was renamed to the Turkmeninform News Agency. TDH was established in 1991 in independent Turkmenistan. In 1992, it

2652-931: Was renamed the Petrograd Telegraph Agency (PTA). It was seized by the Bolsheviks in November 1917 and by December was renamed as the Central Information Agency of the Soviet Russian Council of People's Commissars . On 7 September 1918, the presidium renamed PTA and the Press bureau into the Russian Telegraph Agency ( ROSTA ), which became "the central information agency of the whole Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic". In July 1925,

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2704-663: Was renamed the State News Agency Turkmen-Press simultaneously with the separation from the TASS structure. On May 4, 2000, it was renamed into the Turkmen State Information Service Turkmendovlethabarlary ( Turkmen : Türkmen Döwlet habar gullugy ). In November 2013, TDH launched a redesigned website which provides the function of Turkmen TV streaming. This project has been jointly prepared by

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