Interview: Senior Russian media executive says world needs alternative sources of news

Pavel Andreeve, deputy editor-in-chief of Russia's International Information Agency "Rossiya Segodnya," said that the world needs alternative sources of news coverage that is different from the Western types that are dominating the mainstream.

The senior executive of the Russian media made the assertion in a written interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the third World Media Summit (WMS) that is held in the Qatari capital of Doha.

"The competition from the long-established news producers from the United States and some European countries is strong, though we see increasing interest of the audiences favoring alternative sources, which provide different angles or different stories altogether from the ones dominating the mainstream," he said.

He quoted a survey done by ICM Research for Sputnik News Agency and Radio as showing that a total of 60 percent of European and U.S. citizens polled said they would be interested in receiving information on global events from alternative news outlets.

Andreeve said Sputnik News Agency and Radio, an international project of his media group, aims to reflect the multi-polar and multi-cultural world by presenting various points of view, including those often ignored by mainstream media, staying true to its motto of "Telling the Untold."

In his opinion, a plausible way for media outlets of the developing world to grow more capable of shaping global public opinion is to exploit the possible synergies of joint and complementary production of content between the partners.

"We all have plenty of interesting stories and available content to offer to each other, thus it will not only increase the number of conduits through which the content may be delivered to new audiences, but also, most importantly, it will expand the offering for our established audiences," he said.

Andreeve said that since November 2014, the total number of subscribers to Sputnik News Agency and Radio via their social media accounts has exceeded 12 million, a number that is still growing.

He credited Sputnik's fast-growing popularity in social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, to its efforts in pursuing alternative news coverage, new ways of communicating with audiences, and news formats to deliver original content.

Andreeve said his organization is willing to reach out to all media worldwide that is interested in offering its audience a diverse picture.

"It has to be noted that this process is not exclusive in any way," he said. "I'm a strong believer in 'coopetition,' -- friendly, mutually enriching coopetition."

While answering the question on challenges of the so-called new media facing the traditional ones, Andreeve said the death of traditional media is "overstated."

The traditional media still have impressive audiences, while there are parts of the world where the traditional media keep on picking up numbers in terms of circulation or viewership, he said.

While acknowledging that the new technologies have indeed contributed to incredible proliferation of conduits for news reporting, he said they have also helped expand the total consumption of the media products.

"I actually see the new media as an opportunity for the traditional media companies," he said. "The challenge is to adapt their content and its presentation to tune into the tastes and habits of potential new audience."

Speaking of how a media organization can balance between going after profits and being socially responsible, the Russian media executive said that media companies, particularly news producers, simply may not allow themselves to be solely profit-driven.

"The social function of the news is primary. And thus news production in itself may not be profitable," he said.

Andreeve also suggested that media groups should diversify its revenue resources so as to subsidize their social function, noting that the slowdown of the global economy and the drop of advertising revenue are some of the most acute challenges the media industry has now to face.

Commenting on the WMS mechanism, he said such platforms are always great places to exchange views between different parties, and to entertain possible cooperation projects.

"You have all the important players of the global media market in one place so you could discuss many things in a condensed span of time," he said.

"I'm sure the meeting in Doha will not come short on that."

The two-day summit, which opened on Sunday, has gathered around 350 delegates from media outlets in 100 countries. The theme of the summit is "The Future of News and News Organizations."

Among the attendees are leaders of major news organizations such as China's Xinhua News Agency, CNN, Reuters, The Associated Press, International Information Agency "Rossiya Segodnya," TASS Russian News Agency and Al Jazeera Media Network, the host of the summit. Endit