Russia/Prize for Courage in Journalism

Mediachannel.org: Russian Journalist Wins First Annual Paul Klebnikov Prize for Courage in Journalism

"The Paul Klebnikov Fund will award prominent Russian journalist Diana Kachalova the first annual Paul Klebnikov Prize for Courage in Journalism. The Prize honors the memory of the recently murdered editor of Forbes Russia."

"Diana Kachalova is the trail-blazing editor-in-chief of the weekly Moi Rayon newspaper in St. Petersburg, Russia. Moi Rayon is quite an unusual endeavor for Russia: a grass roots, independent and privately owned newspaper which publishes weekly editions in St. Petersburg’s 11 administrative districts."

Russia/Press Freedom

Editorsweblog: How a European editor experiences press freedom in Russia

"The Financial Times interviewed the Dutchmen Derk Sauer, one of the most important publishers in Russia, and asked him about the situation of press freedom in Russia. Derk Sauer is founder and chief executive of the Russian publisher Independent Media, that was bought for $ 172 million by the Finnish media group SanomaWSOY earlier this year."

"Asked for how much press freedom there is in Russia, Sauer, who has been in Moscow for 16 years now, answered: "The Russian authorities have solved the problem quite cleverly, from their perspective. They have said, 'Well, we will control TV, and the newspapers we will leave free.' Independent news on television doesn't exist. But we and some other papers can write anything, because the authorities are very practical ... The funny thing about Russia: there is complete press freedom for the informed, but none for the uninformed. The informed, the people who read Vedomosti or Kommersant and papers like that, know a lot anyway because they also see satellite TV and the internet. There is no point trying to suppress us. It would just create a fuss and international criticism. We are even an alibi for the Russian authorities. Recently Walter Mondale, the American politician, was in Moscow, and he read the Moscow Times and said: 'Gosh, what press freedom!'"

"But the press also seems to have no impact. Sauer said, "In Russia, the effect of what you publish is different from in the west: nothing happens. The role of the press only works if it is followed up. But we reveal something every week: that someone is corrupt, that the justice system has made a mistake, we reveal the craziest things. And nothing happens. Deathly silence. It is revealed that the ballot boxes were rigged in the elections. People just say, 'So you thought the elections weren't fixed?'"

Belarus/Russia/Deutsche Welle

MosNews.com: Russia Angered by Deutsche Welle Broadcasts in Belarus

"A new radio program by Deutsche Welle for listeners in authoritarian-ruled Belarus is creating tension between Berlin and Moscow, Der Spiegel magazine reported. The daily 15-minute broadcast in Russian, which can also be found on the Internet, offers information on the opposition in Belarus that is not reported by state-controlled media in the state of President Alexander Lukashenko. The EU is subsidizing the program on air with an initial amount of $110,000 annually."

Romania/New Magazines

Publicitas: Edipresse AS Romania is launching various magazines

"Edipresse AS Romania is launching, under the license of Edipresse Hymsa Spain, two more titles: Vacanta ta Perfectã (original title: Rutas del Mundo) and Lucru de Mânã (original title: Labores del Hogar) - the best-selling magazines in Spain and Portugal, on their segment.The magazine appeals to both men and women, aged 25 to 45 years, active, with urban residentes (large cities and Bucharest), high school and university graduates, higher-than-average income."

"Launched in 1926, in Spain, Labores del Hogar is the best-selling magazine in Spain and Portugal in its segment. (The circulation of the magazine in Spain: 71'757 copies).The magazines will be launched with an initial net print run of 20'000 each, with a minimum of 116 pages and an advertising rate card of 1'500 EUR/ full page."

"Computer Bild is the best-selling IT title in the German market since its launch. It is now published in Germany, Spain and Poland as well as in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Italy and Macedonia. Computer Bild is the magazine for the young, educated people interested in the latest technical products and easy to understand information about their quality and function."

"The magazine has a minimum of 114 pages and will be on the market starting 10th of October, with a net print run of 25'000 and a rate card of 1'800 EUR/page. The magazine has a CD attached in every issue at the price of 6 lei."

Russia/Weekly Newspapers

The Moscow Times: Gaidamak Takes Over Moskovskiye Novosti

"Moskovskiye Novosti, a flagship of the liberal press from the time of perestroika that is now suffering a deep editorial crisis, has an unexpected new owner. Arkady Gaidamak, a Moscow-born businessman with four passports and a controversial past, confirmed to Ekho Moskvy radio (10.10.) he had bought the weekly newspaper."

East Europe/Investigative Reporting/Internet

Journalism.co.uk: Commitment, not cash, is key to investigative journalism

"The report editor, Dutch investigative journalist Dick van Eijk, told journalism.co.uk that investigative journalism was developing a strong online presence in countries that have continued to see major assaults on press freedom since the collapse of the Soviet Union – in Russia and the Ukraine, for example."

"While only between three and five per cent of the population have access to the internet in the Ukraine, two sites became very influential in the run up to the Orange Revolution – Ukraina Kriminalna (now sold) and Ukrainska Pravda. The murder of the investigative reporter who founded Ukrainska Pravda in November 2000 sparked a political crisis."

Serbia and Montenegro/New Gossip Weekly

Publicitas.com: Sanoma Magazines launches Story

"Sanoma Magazines SMG operating in Serbia and Montenegro has launched the Serbian edition of the gossip weekly Story. The first issue of Story was presented during a launch party in the capital, Belgrade, on Tuesday 27 September. That same day Story was available on the market with a print run of 70,000 copies."

Russia/Media Consumption

RFE/RL: Television still main source of information for vast majority of Russians

"Nikolai Popov, the research director of the polling center ROMIR Monitoring, told RFE/RL's Moscow bureau on - - that three national networks -- Channel One, RTR, and NTV -- are the main source of information for 79 percent of Russians. According to a poll conducted by ROMIR on 22 September among 1,600 adults and published at rmh.ru, 21 percent said national radio stations are their main source of information, and 14 percent said regional television stations are their main source. Popov noted a sharp decline in interest in the print media, with only 14 percent saying they get their information from it. Similarly, national television has thehighest level of public trust, 44 percent, followed by national radio at 8 percent and the Internet at 5 percent. Only 3 percent of respondents trust the national newspapers. Popov noted that the sharp fall in confidence in the media is a real contrast to the beginning of the 1990s, when the print media had the highest level of public trust, and was perceived as the "lever of democracy." Now the top spot in public confidence belongs to the office of the president,followed by the church and the army, leaving the media in fourth place, Popov said, though he gave no specific figures."

Russia/New Magazines/Foreign Media Giants

Ria Novosti: Two leading Western magazines to launch Russian versions

"Two leading Western business magazines, BusinessWeek and The Economist, are set to launch Russian-language versions due to the West's increasing interest in the local market, Izvestia, a respected daily, said Thursday."

"Alexei Volin, the president of the Rodionov publishing house that would publish the Russian version of BusinessWeek, said the house's another publication, Profil, had long been cooperating with BusinessWeek."

"The Independent Media publishing house, which also publishes the Moscow Times English-language daily, would soon release the Russian-language version of The Economist, Izvestia said."

"A number of leading Western publications already have their Russian-language editions, from Newsweek to Cosmopolitan and Vogue."

Russia/Press/Moskovskiye Novosti

The Moscow Times: Gaidamak Takes Over Moskovskiye Novosti

"Moskovskiye Novosti, a flagship of the liberal press from the time of perestroika that is now suffering a deep editorial crisis, has an unexpected new owner.Arkady Gaidamak, a Moscow-born businessman with four passports and a controversial past, confirmed to Ekho Moskvy radio late Friday that he had bought the weekly newspaper."

"No details of the deal were given, and Gaidamak could not be reached Sunday. Moskovskiye Novosti had been owned by Ukrainian media magnate Vadim Rabinovich, who acquired it in July from Leonid Nevzlin, a core Menatep shareholder, who lives in Israel and is wanted in Russia on charges of fraud and tax evasion."

Belarus/Opposition Daily under Pressure

RFE/RL: Belarus´s only opposition daily under pressure from authorities

"On 28 September Belsayuzdruk, Belarus's state monopoly running a nationwide network of kiosks and newsstands, terminated a contract for the distribution of the country's only opposition daily, "Narodnaya volya," which is struggling to remain afloat after a court froze its bank account and seized newsprint demanding payment of libel damages (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 September 2005), Belapan and RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported."

"The same day, the Minsk-based printing plant Chyrvonaya zorka annulled its contract for printing the daily. The authorities' moves against "Narodnya volya" were announced immediately after the daily transferred 70 million rubles out of the 100 million rubles ($46,500) it was obliged to pay in libel damages to lawmaker Syarhey Haydukevich, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party."

"The newspaper managed to collect the money after appealing for help to its readers. "Narodnaya volya" Editor in Chief Iosif Syaredzich told journalists that he is not sure whether the newspaper will be able to survive next month, as it has no alternative distribution network. "Narodnaya volya" has until now appeared five times per week, selling some 30,000 copies of each issue."

Hungary/Foreign Media Giants/Marketing Agency

FT: Aegis to buy Hungarian media group for €10m

"Aegis, the UK media and market research group facing a possible 140p-a-share bid from French rival Publicis, said it had bought Kirowski Rt, a Hungarian marketing agency, for up to €10m in cash.The acquisition is the latest in a series of small startegic deals for Aegis. In August, it bought Glue London, an online creative agency, for £14.7m in a deal driven by the belief that advertisers want to buy new media campaigns."