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Reuters staffers concerned about Tass relationship

News staffers at Reuters are concerned about the company’s relationship with Tass, the Russian-government owned news service, reports Max Tani of Politico.

Tani writes, “Multiple journalists at Reuters told POLITICO that staff are frustrated and embarrassed by the company’s continued partnership with Tass, the wire service owned by the Russian government. The relationship dates back to 2020, when the news wire first announced a partnership to distribute content from the state-owned news organization. That move raised some eyebrows among staff at Reuters at the time. But it passed largely unnoticed by people outside the company. In the wake of the Ukraine invasion, more scrutiny is being placed on the arrangement, including from Reuters’ employees.

“‘It was an embarrassment when the partnership was signed two years ago,’ one Reuters reporter told POLITICO. ‘Now it’s just wrong, and the silence from the top is worrying and maybe the worst part.’

“According to two Reuters journalists who spoke to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity in order to candidly discuss internal matters, some staff have sought answers from higher-ups about why Reuters continues to distribute Tass via its business-to-business service Reuters Connect, which allows news organizations that pay for the wire service to access and share Tass’ content.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

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