TEL AVIV, 19 February (BelTA) – New opportunities for cooperation, acute problems of modern journalism, ways to use social media, competition between social media and conventional mass media, peculiarities of covering events in interstate conflict zones were discussed in Tel Aviv, Israel on 19 February where a roundtable session was arranged to discuss space, trends, and prospects of Russian mass media, BelTA has learned.
The event was organized by the World Association of Russian Press (WARP). Members of the Central Election Commission of Russia Vasily Likhachev and Alexander Klyukin, representatives of the Israeli parliament, government agencies, and other persons were also invited to attend the roundtable session.
WARP President Vitaly Ignatenko remarked that the 20th world congress of Russian press will take place this year. This international forum has earned solid reputation as a respected venue, which is open for discussions about various press-related matters. The agenda of the congress is being worked out now. It will cover a large number of topics and will attract leading media experts from various parts of the globe.
While talking about competition between conventional media and new media, a number of participants of the roundtable session noted that printed mass media and online news platforms should use all the capabilities of social networks as effectively as possible for the sake of their own interests. Mass media should promptly adapt texts and visual content instead of complaining about how hard life is.
First Deputy Director General of the Russian news agency TASS Mikhail Gusman stressed that printed mass media should focus on substantially improving the quality of published materials in addition to presenting information in unconventional ways. Then they will be able to successfully compete with online media in the present day and age.
Representatives of the Central Election Commission of Russia answered questions concerning the ongoing presidential election campaign, including the organization of voting at polling stations outside Russia. It was noted that international organizations, including the OSCE ODIHR, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, show interest in the Russian election. According to preliminary data, the OSCE ODIHR alone will send 500 observers to the Russian Federation.
The World Association of Russian Press (WARP) was established on 24 June 1999. It is an open international non-governmental association of printed and online mass media, news agencies, publishing houses, television channels, and radio programs. According to the WARP Council, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, radio and television broadcasts in Russian are now available in over 70 countries across the globe. A significant number of them are represented in WARP or cooperate with the association.
