What should business and the media talk about in the changed conditions

On June 17, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2022), the Association of Managers held a round table of the Committee on Mass Media and Information Policy.

“What to talk about” for businesses and the media in the changed conditions was discussed by representatives of leading publications – Peter Lidov-Petrovsky, Director of Communications of MIA”Russia Today”; Andrey Tsyper, Executive Director of Media Rambler&Co; Nikolay Yaremenko, editor-in-chief of the publication “Soviet Sport”; Boris Molodov, General Director of the Communication Agency“GlavSovetnik”; Denis Terekhov, General Director of the agency “Social Networks” and others. The event was moderated by Vadim Kovalev, the First Deputy Executive Director of the Association of Managers.

The co-chairman of the committee, a shareholder of “Vedomosti” and the head of the “FederalPress”media holding, Ivan Eremin, called weak information activity of business of the key problems of the industry, primarily associated with a shortage of information strategies adapted to work in new conditions.

“The hopes that the decisions made on emotions will be canceled, alas, are not justified yet. The sanctions confrontation with the West, the policy of canceling Russia, the absence of a normal political dialogue and the destruction of the built economic ties – these are all serious and for a long time. And those will affect absolutely all segments of the Russian economy, including the media market and the communications industry”, Eremin stated.

I.Eremin noted that the creation of information strategies designed to work in new conditions is becoming a vital necessity for both companies and the state. “Only a well-structured interaction between business, the state and the media can overcome the difficulties we face and ensure the development of all sectors of the economy and the country as a whole”.

He expressed his conviction that VUKA is a world, that is, a world in a state of global uncertainty,changing value orientations and building new rules of the game, and doing business should be taken as a constant and proceed from this when developing anti-crisis solutions and development plans.

Speaking about the priorities for business, I.Eremin warned him against information passivity. He drew attention to the need to build new ties, production chains, and the importance of building the reputation of Russian companies, both in the foreign space and in Russian regions.

In his opinion, these tasks can be solved only under the condition of close interaction between business and the media, which act as a link for all participants of the economy and the engine of economic processes.

“Right now, we need close communication with the state — we need to build clear rules of the game,especially at the legislative level and in terms of the activities of regulators”, he stressed, speaking about the prospects of the committee’s work. According to I.Eremin, it is the committee that should become a platform where a consolidated position of the industry will be formed and a dialogue with the state will take place.

Boris Molodov, General Director of the “GlavSovetnik” Communication Agency, said that active cooperation should be developed not only with federal, but also with regional media, and it is also necessary to focus on the information activities of small and medium-sized regional businesses, which are now actively engaged in import substitution.

Daria Penchilova, Director of Digital Development at TASS, among the main difficulties of the media market in the context of economic transformation, also listed the departure of advertisers and the decline in revenue, the problem with personnel. Among the latest trends, Penchilova noted the significantly increased role of information verification, when accuracy becomes more important than efficiency. New needs dictate the transformation of fact-checking into an independent profession and anew type of business.

According to Daria Penchilova, today there is a rejection of the usual social networks in favor of a”short” format – messages in Telegram and WhatsApp. The speaker also stressed the role of”explanatory journalism” – it is the media that plays the main role in teaching the audience information hygiene, digital and financial literacy.

The general director of the “Russian Media Group” Lyubov Malyarevskaya agrees with the last thesis.Speaking about the features and needs of the audience of the media group’s radio stations, she noted:”We treat our audience very responsibly. We are literally engaged in its self-education”.