SAINT PETERSBURG, October 28./ TASS/. More than two dozen journalists from the southern Chinese province of Hainan, representing various media outlets, completed an internship at TASS on Monday at the agency’s headquarters in Moscow and at the regional information center in St. Petersburg. Head of the Chinese delegation, head of the political studies department, propaganda department of the provincial party committee of the Chinese Communist Party Li Xiaoguang shared his opinion following the results of the program.
“Despite the fact that our time was limited, we got a lot of impressions and skills. All members of the delegation have been abroad for the first time. We are impressed by the beauty of different cities — Moscow and St. Petersburg — and, of course, we had a very systematic educational program, including facts and details about the history of TASS, about all its branches and the way they interact with each other. We also visited many editorial offices and even participated directly in the agency’s work. Our delegation was eager to ask questions, and our colleagues were very open with us, we got all the answers we needed," said the head of the delegation, adding how grateful he was to the agency's management for the internship's organization.
The internship was held on October 17-28. “We brought here the most prominent representatives of our media — TV, newspapers and radio. Surely they were very enthusiastic to see how the oldest news agency in Russia worked, and they wrote everythiong down, and I hope and I am sure they will use this knowledge in their work," said Li Xiaoguang.
St Petersburg program
Chinese journalists in St. Petersburg were introduced to TASS' regional projects, including those related to coverage of the Arctic and working with the youth. TASS reporters also told theie Chinese counterparts about the peculiarities of the work of the editorial office during the election campaign and on Unified Voting Day, the role of cultural news in the general information paradigm of the city, interaction with non-profit organizations, information partnerships etc. Honorary Professor of St. Petersburg State University Lyudmila Gromova told the delegation about the role TASS plays in the formation of professional standards of Russian journalism .
“We were amazed by all the teachers, because they were completely different both in character and in the manner of presenting information, and everyone left a very warm and good impression,” the head of the Chinese delegation noted. “There is a saying in China: “It’s better to give a fishing rod than a fish”. “I believe this is totally justifiable: we were told about the ways of obtaining information, about its processing and directly about the product we get in the end — the TASS newswire and other information products. The most important thing that the agency's staff and all the teachers showed us was their warm hearts, their passion for the work they are doing, and the thrill they are getting from it, and, of course, we were struck by their tireless work capacity — through this we felt how they work and how they reach such a speed in delievring the news"
Director of TASS St. Petersburg information center Alexander Potekhin, in turn, pointed out the sincere interest Chinese colleagues demonstarted in all the topics proposed in the curriculum, as well as to possible joint programs between the city on the Neva River and the Hainan province can be attractive for ordinary Petersburg people. "And we talked not only about organizing joint tourist trips, but also about cooperation in other areas — culture above all else," he said noting the goodwill in communication and mutual understanding between the parties throughout the internship.
In an interview with TASS Li Xiaoguang expressed hope for further joint training projects. "We would like very much to invite our new friends, colleagues — both the teaching staff and TASS leadership — to Hainan for further training and, possibly, some joint projects, we would also like to show our skills and capabilities, but in our homeland now," he said.
The internship of Chinese journalists was carried out as part of a cooperation agreement between TASS and the Hainan Province.