BREST, 2 June (BelTA) – A new reality sets new tasks for the media industry, and our future will depend on our ability to address them, Belarus' Information Minister Vladimir Pertsov said on the sidelines of the 3rd Forum of Belarus' Media Community in Brest, BelTA has learned.
According to the information minister, public demand for quality information has recently increased, and the urgency behind combating fake news continues to grow. Journalists should be able to challenge the lies and falsifications that have flooded the information space in a professional and prompt manner.
“A new reality sets new tasks for the media industry, and our future will depend on our ability to address them. The forum offers an excellent opportunity to discuss current trends and share best practices with each other. You see how fast the digitalization process is gaining traction, how fast audience preferences are changing and new forms of presenting information are emerging, how social networks are evolving. A new multifaceted approach is needed in order to become more popular with the reader, viewer, listener. Hence the topic of today's event - cross-media journalism,” said Vladimir Pertsov.
The forum participants will discuss what journalism should be like today, how to promote content on various platforms, what forms of reporting are most popular by the audience.
According to the information minister, over the past year the Belarusian media became more efficient and confident, regional analytics emerged, and materials became more diverse. Journalists began to pay more attention to the problems that concern the public the most. This has borne fruit. In particular, the number of views of media outlets and their citation have increased. “Yet, the biggest achievement is that the audience sticks with you, trusts you and relies on your support and help. You have increased your presence on the Internet. In December 2022 the Internet audience of regional media was about 2.8 million people, while in February 2023 the number exceeded 3.1 million. One of the tasks set by the Information Ministry is the launch of a national measurement system on the Internet. We will discuss this matter today,” Vladimir Pertsov said.
Separately, the minister raised the topic of optimization of individual media outlets. Optimization has produced positive results. “This has helped improve the form and content of media outlets. The successful work of new media holdings has once again proved to everyone that such decisions were right,” Vladimir Pertsov emphasized.
He cited an example of a holding company established in Brest Oblast. Newspapers of Malorita District, Zhabinka District and Gantsevichi District became part of the regional newspaper Zarya. “This decision has helped to significantly improve the form and quality of published materials. The number of analytical, counter-propaganda materials has increased; new projects and columns have been launched. Moreover, the circulation of the newspaper has increased considerably. All the newspapers of the holding company work at a profit, although the situation used to be different before,” the information minister said.
About 250 people are taking part in the 3rd Forum of Belarus' Media Community in Brest. These are representatives of state-run central and regional media outlets, corporate outlets, online media, ideological workers, employees of press services of the central government agencies, as well as media experts.
