The coronavirus pandemic is forcing many regional daily newspapers in Russia to switch to a weekly format, as they are struggling to catch up with burgeoning social media and news feeds, the chief of the Russian Union of Journalists, Vladimir Solovyov, said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) The coronavirus pandemic is forcing many regional daily newspapers in Russia to switch to a weekly format, as they are struggling to catch up with burgeoning social media and news feeds, the chief of the Russian Union of Journalists, Vladimir Solovyov, said on Friday.
"Judging by the facts that we have gathered over the past year, first of all, it became clear that there is a trend for the local [press], sometimes even [bigger] regional newspapers, to switch to a weekly format ... Social networks and news feeds are, certainly, winning this race, so newspapers are switching to the long read, thick format published at the end of the week, when the results are summed up," Solovyov told a conference devoted to journalism in the 2020 pandemic year.
This format, he went on, paves the way for more in-depth and interesting materials of higher quality.
The pandemic-induced economic crisis, however, has also hit many regional radio stations, especially in Siberia and the Far East, slashing their number.
Everyone now goes to social media to explore its opportunities, Solovyov noted.
