Nikolai Sherstnev met with representatives of regional and republican media
Media bear responsibility for ensuring stability in society. This opinion was expressed by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Nikolai Sherstnev, at a meeting with representatives of regional and republican media, and directors of printing houses, dedicated to Press Day, Radio, Television and Communications Workers' Day.
"There is no need to try to smooth over or embellish something - this will only undermine trust in both you and the authorities," Nikolai Sherstnev emphasized, addressing the journalists. - "Receiving truthful, complete, and timely information is a constitutional right of citizens, and you must ensure it. This is one of the factors of the country's national security. Not only public opinion but often the course of events and human destinies depend on journalistic assessments.
"The press is an indispensable tool without which the authorities cannot function. How can the authorities convey their ideology and development goals for the region to the people without the media? It is impossible." In this regard, Nikolai Sherstnev emphasized the importance of how information is presented and how objective journalists are in their reporting.
"The information field is changing, but high-quality professional journalism, like the mastery and culture of the printed word, remains in demand. The main task is not to search for sensations, but to get to the truth, to help the reader, viewer, and listener understand, form their worldview. And somewhere, to defend the interests of one side or another. You participate in creating the social mood of people and the image of the region. Your position should be not to hide shortcomings, but to identify them, analyze their causes, and show ways to solve them," concluded the head of the region.
The improvement of settlements, modernization of enterprises, development of integration structures in the agro-industrial complex, implementation of large investment projects, construction of socially significant facilities, preparation of Polotsk for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Belarusian book printing, Dubrovno for the regional "Dazhynki-2017" and, in general, the creation of a strong competitive economy of tomorrow - all these topics, according to the governor, should be widely and truthfully covered in regional and national media.
127 mass media of various forms of ownership are registered in the Vitebsk region, including 78 print media and 49 electronic media. 24 state newspapers are published, 19 of which became profitable last year.
The meeting featured an award ceremony for the winners of the annual regional competition for print media for the F. Skorina Prize and electronic media for the "Vityaz" Prize. Among the winners and laureates in various nominations were the editorial teams of the Vitebsk city newspapers "Vitbichi" and "Vecherniy Vitebsk" and the regional newspaper "Vitebskiye Vesti", the "Vitebsk" TV and radio company and the institution "Editorial Office of the radio program 'Glubokoye Local Radio Broadcasting'", journalists of the newspaper "Rodnyya Vytoki" (Dokshitsy) and "Orshanskaya Gazeta".
The best photojournalist of regional print media was named Anton Stepanishchev, an employee of the regional newspaper "Vitebskiye Vesti". The best young journalist of regional media was Anna Obodova, a correspondent for the city newspaper "Novopolotsk Segodnya".
The second half of the meeting was dedicated to a press conference with Nikolai Sherstnev, which turned into a two-hour conversation.
BELTA, photos by Anton Stepanishchev.