Ulaanbaatar, /MONTSAME/2006.07.09/. MONTSAME National News Agency of Mongolia is turning 85 years. The MONTSAME was founded on July 1921 by the government as MONTA--the Mongolian telegraph agency. One of the oldest organizations in the country, it began its activities on March 19, 1921 by reporting in Morse code the victory of the partisan troops of Sukhbaatar over the invaders. The foundation of the MONTSAME coincided with the stormy beginnings of a new historical era in Mongolia.
The MONTSAME has been both the witness and the participant of the achievements as well as the pitfalls of Mongolia during the past eighty five years. Until 1957, the MONTSAME worked alongside with Russian news agencies, between 1957 and 1990, the MONTSAME cooperated with Mongolian Television and Radio networks before becoming fully independent in 1990.
The MONTSAME s role is to "efficiently supply domestic and foreign news to mass media in the country, and to inform the world of Mongolia s diverse heritage and contemporary culture". The principles of openness, objectivity, efficiency and pluralism in our reportage are the basic standards we set for all information coming from the MONTSAME news agency. Our agency has a staff of more than 120 journalists, technicians and administrators. The MONTSAME is a critical element in the national media mix and is estimated to account for 80% of all news gathered and disseminated in Mongolia. Domestic clients receive a comprehensive selection of domestic and translated foreign news items, which cover politics, economics, social affairs, culture, sciences and sport.
The MONTSAME clients include government agencies, public and private companies and foreign organizations as well as Mongolian newspapers and broadcasting stations. The agency has its stringers in all 21 aimags and resident correspondents in Moscow, Beijing, Berlin, Washington, Astana, Praha, Seoul and Hanoi. The MONTSAME s photo news desk provides photographic services--to run a special archival information reference service.
The Agency is in the process of "going digital" and issues its photographs to other agencies/newspapers via email with greater speed. We also exhibit our photographs, which is great publicity for us. Ten years have passed since the MONTSAME published the first issue of its weekly "Human Bichig" newspaper written entirely in the traditional Mongolian script. The "Human Bichig" is our contribution to preserving Mongolia s intellectual heritage as traditional script usage ebbs away. The MONTSAME has been publishing the English language "Mongol Messenger" since 1991, the Russian language "Novosti Mongolia" since mid of 1940s and the Chinese language "Mengu Syao Shibao" since 1998. The "MONTSAME News" (Evening urgent news) daily magazine has been published since 2001.These publications are printed in modern printing houses and serves as a core information source for both domestic and overseas subscribers. Foreign news bulletins are issued daily in English and Russian, and provide our subscribers with a comprehensive review of up-to-date news gathered from our Domestic news department and the Mongolian daily newspapers. Embassies, press offices and foreign organizations operating in Ulaanbaatar in return for subscription fees subscribe the bulletins.
The MONTSAME constantly adapts and repositions itself to face its challenging role in the new information age. It is the first news agency in Mongolia to ever issue a series of nine "Golden rules", which define the MONTSAME s purpose and guides for our employees in improving their standards and raising the competitiveness of the agency. The MONTSAME has established cooperation agreement with such news agencies as the ITAR-TASS, RIA Novosty (Russia), REUTERS (Great Britain), XINHUA (China), VIA (Vietnam), PTI (India), YONHAP (Republic of Korea), PRENSA LATINA (Cuba) and PPA (Poland), and receives news from them via satellite and computer, and supplies our clients with translated daily domestic and foreign news. The agency went online in October 1997. The Internet has opened up new opportunities for the MONTSAME in disseminating its news directly to the public. You can read our home page, which provides an enquiry service, photo service, and domestic news in English and Russian languages.
The MONTSAME news agency is a member of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), a recognized regional organization with 32 agency members. OANA serves as an effective Asia and Pacific information network and the MONTSAME receives and supplies daily news to the network. The MONTSAME news agency joined NANAP (Non-Aligned News Agencies Organizations) in 1992 and elected to the Coordination Council of this organization.
Source: http://www.montsame.mn /MONTSAME news agency/