The «Direct Line» of the Minister of Information of the Republic of Belarus Oleg Proleskovsky was held in the Vitebsk region

Last Thursday, Minister of Information of the Republic of Belarus Oleg Proleskovsky held a "direct line" with the residents of the region.

Last Thursday, a "direct line" with the residents of the region was held at the editorial office of our newspaper, where Minister of Information of the Republic of Belarus Oleg Proleskovsky (pictured) was present.

The first to reach the editorial office of our newspaper, where the "direct line" was held, was Mikhail Daidych, a resident of Polotsk. He approached the minister with a proposal.

— Disna has the unofficial status of the smallest town in Belarus. This settlement in the Miory region has been known since the 11th century as a fortress of the Principality of Polotsk, — Mikhail Sergeevich began the conversation. — Disna has a rich history. The town itself, located on a peninsula opposite the castle, of which only traces of former fortifications remain, despite repeated destructions and fires, has inherited many features of the 16th-century architectural layout. It would be good to hold one of the next Days of Belarusian Written Language in this town.

Oleg Vitoldovich liked this proposal, and he promised to discuss it with the head of the region, Alexander Kosinets, in the near future.

A pensioner from Sennensky district, Valentina Kravchenko, is concerned about the fate of wired radio:

— I wake up and fall asleep to its broadcasts. I get all the news and weather forecasts from my old and trusted friend. And now they say that they will soon start removing the wires. Is this true?

The Minister of Information reassured the pensioner. An agreement has already been reached with the Ministry of Communications to maintain existing transmission lines in their usual mode in the foreseeable future. There is no point in laying new wires, as we are in the 21st century. Wired radio is relevant today because for many, especially rural residents, it is one of the main sources of regional news. At the same time, it is a proven channel for informing the public about emergencies. The tragic events in Krymsk confirmed this: those who had their radios on heard about the impending natural disaster in time. Oleg Vitoldovich emphasized that wired radio continues to operate in its usual mode in Russia, Ukraine, and China. The position of our country's ministry is as follows: while preserving wired radio, increase the broadcast time of district radio broadcasting, develop district newspapers and television, and also transition to online broadcasting on the Internet. This is the call of the times.

Maria Golyak, a long-time reader, expressed her gratitude to the journalists of the district newspaper "Vesnik Glybochchyny".

— Our district newspaper is authoritative; it promptly reports on events, on hardworking people, and on famous fellow countrymen. At the same time, we only see our native newspaper in color format on holidays. But we would like it to be not only interesting in content but also pleasing to the eye, — noted the resident of Glubokoye.

Modern color printing equipment was purchased for the Novopolotsk printing house, where "Vesnik Glybochchyny" is printed, using funds from the regional executive committee and the ministry, Oleg Proleskovsky informed the reader. This means that it is possible to produce every issue in full color. However, for the sake of economy, this is not always done, which is also correct, the minister emphasized.

Oleg Vitoldovich also answered questions from a journalist from "VVS". Touching upon the reorganization of media in the republic, he noted that time has confirmed the correctness of the decision made. The successful merger of two regional newspapers in the Vitebsk region is proof of this. "Today, in our small country, more than half a dozen republican newspapers are published – this is a lot. They clash in the information space, duplicate information", - emphasized Oleg Proleskovsky. In addition, according to the Minister of Information, there is no significant difference between central and regional print publications. The print run of both is one million copies, and the rating of some district newspapers is at the same level as "Sovetskaya Belorussiya". Therefore, it is possible that there will be one central state newspaper with various supplements, which can be subscribed to at will.

— The reorganization also affected "Belkniga", two years ago we returned to its unified structure, which disintegrated into regional divisions in the early 1990s. If we had not done this, then today we would be talking in the past tense about "Brestkniga" and "Gomelkniga". Now, for the first time in the industry, trade has brought profit, - emphasized the head of the information department.

It was also noted that the ministry currently has six publishing houses. According to Oleg Proleskovsky, this is an excessive number, and the issue of merging some of them into a single scientific and educational block is currently being worked out.

Speaking about the compatibility of the concepts of self-recoupment of state publications and their popularity among readers, Oleg Vitoldovich noted that local authorities should provide all possible assistance to editorial offices, including financial support. And journalists are obliged to make the newspaper attractive, while reasonably using advertising materials.

The Minister of Information agreed that the prestige of the journalism profession needs to be raised. Graduates of the Institute of Journalism do not want to go to the regions; the vast majority remain in the capital, some go to Russia, and others to neighboring countries.

Regional universities, having undertaken to train staff for local newspapers, cannot perform this task effectively for various reasons. And if the salary of a correspondent for central media is higher than that of a regional one, it does not mean that more talented people work for the former. This is a problem, and it needs to be solved in the near future, believes Oleg Proleskovsky.

Artur Mateyun, "Vitebskie Vesti"