Two publishing houses will be created in Belarus based on republican newspapers by the end of 2012

May 18, Ushachi / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Two publishing houses will be created in Belarus on the basis of republican newspapers. This was announced to journalists by the Minister of Information of Belarus Oleg Proleskovsky, answering a question from a BELTA correspondent. It is not easy for socio-political newspapers to position themselves in the information field and find their reader, the minister believes. "The country is small, and there are five republican newspapers, while in large Russia there is only one federal newspaper," he stated. At the same time, the minister noted that the topics of materials and the format of their presentation differ little among the publications. The minister did not hide that the difficult economic situation was the starting point for the implementation of the idea of creating media holdings, but stressed: "It's not about money - it's about the reader." Oleg Proleskovsky noted that a decision has been made to create two publishing houses. The working group, which he heads, has begun preparatory work. One publishing house will be created on the basis of four republican newspapers. The consolidation of legal entities is currently underway. "At the first stage, the newspapers themselves will be preserved. The management apparatus is being optimized," the minister explained. He did not rule out that the end result of the consolidation would be the publication of one socio-political newspaper. Speaking about the second publishing house, Oleg Proleskovsky explained that it will be formed on the basis of the newspaper "Zvyazda" and the editorial and publishing institution "Literature and Art". Culturological themes will become the main focus in the newspaper and magazines of this publishing house. According to Oleg Proleskovsky, it is planned to complete the work on the creation of publishing houses by the end of 2012. The minister is convinced that the quality of periodicals and their financial capabilities will only grow from the creation of media holdings. "The consolidation of newspapers is the normal life of print publications. The whole world is moving towards the creation of such large printing houses. With their appearance, there is an opportunity for editorial maneuver: creative and financial," Oleg Proleskovsky believes. Before the creation of the publishing houses, the Ministry of Information intends to set another important task for them - the creation of their own powerful Internet resources. According to Oleg Proleskovsky's forecasts, by 2020, paper versions of newspapers will become obsolete, but their Internet versions will only develop. "As for regional publications, I am deeply convinced that no more than one regional newspaper is needed," he said. At the same time, Oleg Proleskovsky believes that there is no need to consolidate district newspapers. "If a newspaper becomes inter-district, it moves away from people's pressing problems, and a district newspaper is valuable because it is close to the person," he believes. The development of Internet versions is also one of the most important tasks of district publications. This is especially important when newspapers are published two or three times a week. The minister believes that paper versions should contain large journalistic materials: analytics, comments, while Internet pages should be dedicated to current news that happens every day. Oleg Proleskovsky also noted that the state has supported and will continue to support the media. "Thus, the state contributes to the realization of citizens' constitutional right to receive information," he stressed. -0-