Russian Media Model: Newspapers and Magazines

1. Russian Media Model:Newspapers and Magazines Professor Elena Vartanova Faculty of Journalism Moscow State University/ Aleksander Institute, Helsinki University

2. Contrasting Models of Russian Media • Press: introduction of market leads to increased regionalization /localization (the role of distribution) • TV: political elite and big advertisers are pushing television towards the federal economic centre, while regional TV is becoming dependent on national networks as programs suppliers • Radio: little attention of politicians and segmented advertising guarantees diversification of formats and localization of contents • Internet: comparatively low and uneven level of connectivity makes it selective and ‘young’ media • Mobile telephony: undeveloped sector of content services, therefore it is not still in the media system

3. Media Attitudes • 41% trust national mass media (fort residents of Moscow and St-Petersburg residents - 57%) • 15% trust local media (for residents of big cities - 21%) • 7% trust regional media • 27% of Russian do not trust any media • VSCHIOM 2005 (Novosti SMI, 2005, August, N 15-16, p. 27)

4. Media Uses Russians get information from: National TV channels 79% Central radio channels 21% Regional TV channels 14% National (Moscow) press 14% Internet 7% Regional radio stations 6% Regional press 4% Other sources 2% Can’t answe 1% ROMIR Monitoring 2005 (Novosti SMI, 2005, October, N 19, p. 26)

5. Russian Newspaper Market: Many Titles, Few Success Stories

6. How Big is theRussian Print Media Market? Number of registered titles: • 25 843 newspapers • 16 544 magazines • 3 397 almanacs • annual newspapers circulation: 8 000 000 000 000 copies • annual magazines circulation: 520 000 000 copies Ministry of Press and Broadcasting, 2005

7. 2004: From Subscription to Retails • Number of profitable dailies does not exceed 10% of total number of titles • Total sales of newspapers - $ 1,9 billion (estimate) including: • Retail - $ 1 billion • Subscription - about $ 530 million • Free distribution - $ 370 million

8. Newspapers: Old New Brands

9. Basic Features of Russian Newspaper Market • High number of registered titles of which only half is published • Two trends: high politicization of content in Moscow-based dailies + rise of sensational journalism • Priority of opinions (propaganda) over news (objective reporting) • Absence of nationally distributed dailies: 21 newspaper for 1 000 readers • Lack of reliable statistics (circulations, revenue and budgets, ownership structures) • State monopoly in printing and paper production • Weak position of private delivery companies

10. Recent Trends: Dealing with the Global • National distribution for Moscow dailies is secured by regional inserts (Komsomolskaya Pravda, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Argumenti i Facty, Zhizn’) • Weeklies are the most profitable newspapers, but their content concepts are mostly built around easy family reading • Newspapers change their formats for tabloids, increase number of pages, introduce colors

11. Tabloidization: the Russian way • Tabloids are not always ‘tabloids’: Change of size and content (‘Komsomolskaya Pravda’, ‘Gazeta’) and only of content (MK) • Specific editorial concept with an emphasis on political sensations and infotainment, both lacking deep analysis • Priority of local soft news and human interest stories, increase in life style stories • ‘Decentralized printing’ in regions + retail distribution based on urban public transportation system + cooperation with regional publishers

12. Komsomolskaya Pravda old brand special regional/local editions for national distribution support from resource capital Unstructured audience, but advertising targeted for core audience profitable Moskovsky Komsomoletz old brand particular attention to Moscow life informal support from the Moscow city government retail distribution based on Moscow metro system economically independent profitable Russian Tabloids: Two Old New Brands

13. In Search of a Quality Daily • Still a free niche • Target groups: highly educated low paid professionals (old Soviet intelligentsija) + lacking business education businessmen (‘new Russians’) + new business elite (CEOs, top-managers) • A need: neutral, balanced and professional content + special advertising concepts • Cases: • ‘Gazeta’ (2001): financed by industrial capital (Lisin), now tabloid - both in form and content • ‘Izvestija’ (1918): long history of state daily+ financing from resource capital (‘Profmedia’-‘Gazprom’) + cooperation with NYT + endless change of management + substantial upgrading of content and lay-out • Kommersant Daily, RBK DailyÖ business alternatives

14. Types of Russian Dailies

15. Magazines for New Social Groups

16. Basic Features of the Russian Magazine Market • Annual circulation 600 million copies • Weeklies: 60% of annual circulation, but 30% of magazine advertising market • Monthlies: 35% of annual circulation, but 60% of magazine advertising market • The highest quantitative growth in the media sector: 5 000 new titles in last 2 years, but slow growth of the market itself • Magazines more often considered as business compared to newspapers: a growth in volume is explained by 40% restriction in advertising share of content • Market leaders: 600 magazines, mostly glossies, 55% of titles and 50% of circulation is printed abroad

17. Russian Magazines: Types and Roles • Russian language versions of the international magazine brands: Cosmo, Men’s Health, Geo, Wallpaper, etc. • Magazines copying Western formats (mostly TV guides and weekly news magazines) • and particular Russian ventures (Karavan istoryi, Rabotnitza, Krestjanka, Zdorovije) • Creation of new Russian mythology: guidelines for new rich • Political weeklies: A space for intellectual debates=substitution for a quality dailies