On November 18, Novopolotsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Newspaper circulation is not declining with the presence of their online versions, stated the Minister of Information of Belarus, Oleg Proleskovsky. He held a reception for citizens today at the public reception of the Novopolotsk city organization of the public association "Belaya Rus", reports a BELTA correspondent. During the challenging economic years of 2009-2010, subscriptions to national and regional publications did not fall. Moreover, about two-thirds of regional media outlets are self-sufficient. At the insistence of the Ministry of Information, all regional newspapers have launched their own websites this year, which, together with the previously created online versions of national newspapers, are integrated into the portal of Belarusian media. The task for the near future is to make the websites popular and even profitable, stated Oleg Proleskovsky. He is convinced that newspaper circulation will not suffer from this. The website should feature not the full version of the newspaper, but operational information that will establish a connection between readers and the editorial office. "Websites, especially for non-daily newspapers, are a daily communication with readers," believes the minister. An archive of issues will also be created here. In addition, the Ministry of Information intends to initiate the placement of official documents that are mandatory for publication on newspaper websites, instead of printing them in the periodicals themselves. According to Oleg Proleskovsky, for such documents, it is sufficient to provide an announcement in the newspapers, and if necessary, the reader can visit the newspaper's website to read the full version of the document and even download it. The issue of the need to introduce the position of a website administrator into the staff of newspaper editorial offices also arose at the meeting. Currently, no such staff positions are provided for. -0-

BELTA