27 May 2003
Brest region ideologists work to attract subscribers to state periodicals
The regional government in Brest has launched a weekly campaign to attract subscribers to state-controlled newspapers.
The drive began on May 27 with a meeting of officials responsible for ideology with editors of the local newspapers, correspondents for national periodicals and deputy chiefs for ideology at enterprises,
organizations and higher education establishments.
Nina Shpak, head of the Brest Regional Executive Committee's Information Department, ordered ideology executives to do their best to ensure that "the reader receives the state press."
Similar meetings will be held in Baranovichi, Pinsk and other district centers later this week. About 803,000 copies of newspapers and magazines were distributed by subscription in the region on
April 1, according to the state-run distributor, Belpochta. In Brest, 368 copies are delivered by subscription per 1000 residents compared with 746 copies in the Kamenets district, and 710 copies in the Lyakhovichi district. National newspapers account for 63.4 percent of the periodicals distributed by subscription, and district newspapers for 14.2 percent.
Belarus' largest government-controlled newspaper Sovetskaya Belorussiya has 45,754 subscribers in the region, and another national newspaper, Narodnaya Gazeta, has 6,209 subscribers. The number of
subscribers to district papers ranges from 2,890 (Holas Chasu, Malorita) to 13,619 (Nash Krai, Baranovichi).
Vecherny Brest, which has the largest number of subscribers in the region, about 50,000, plans to set up its own distribution system this year.Subscriber numbers for private newspapers were not cited at the meeting.
http://brestonline.com/en/news/news413.html