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Ekho Moskvy Team Wins New Frequency
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Текст: Irina Kuzmenko
A team of journalists from the Ekho Moskvy radio station, headed by the station’s chief editor Alexei Venediktov, has won the tender to broadcast on the 87.5 FM frequency in Moscow. After the tender was decided, Venediktov announced that he would quit his post as Ekho Moskvy’s chief editor on May 31.
Venediktov and colleagues from the Ekho Moskvy station formed the Media-Novosti company to bid for the slot on Moscow’s airwaves. The name of their projected radio station is Arsenal and they now intend to begin broadcasting on June 1.
Venediktov and his colleagues decided to launch the new project after Gazprom-Media failed to honour an unwritten agreement to turn a portion of the station’s over to the staff to ensure that no single entity would have a major stake in the station. Gazprom became the major shareholder in Ekho Moskvy following the takeover of Vladimir Gusinsky’s Media Most holding.
Press secretary for the Press Ministry, Yuri Akinshin told Gazeta.Ru that the radio Arsenal project was the clear winner of the tender, decided by members of the Federal Tender Commission behind closed doors. Eight of the nine commission members voted for the project headed by Venediktov.
Akinshin claims that as a result of the vote, nobody can accuse the Press Ministry of being bias, for several state broadcasting enterprises competed in the tender, including the intergovernmental tele-radio company Mir and Radio Rossiya.
Prior to the tender Venediktov sounded pessimistic about Arsenal’s chances of success, saying that there were too many entities competing for the frequency (17-18), many of which had “serious” projects. He also said that the “political situation was not favourable” for Arsenal’s chances.
However, one cannot help thinking that Venediktov’s victory is simply a tactical move by the powers that be to try and demonstrate that all is well with press freedoms in the country. Now they have a counterargument for the critics if Evgenny Kiselyov’s team does not win the tender for the sixth channel.
But in the following interview with Gazeta.Ru, Alexei Venediktov appears slighly more optimistic than he was prior to the tender.
What are your impressions from the tender?
They can be expressed in one phrase: the commission gave credit to our professionalism against the background of the adverse political situation. The fact that Arsenal won eight of the nine votes indicates as much. Judging by the questions the members of the commission posed about the Arsenal project, it was clear that they were not chosen randomly and that they are good at their job: They asked all the right questions.
Following your victory, how do you now evaluate Evgeny Kiselyov’s chances of winning the 6th channel?
Of all those vying for the sixth channel, the TV-6 was and still is the most professional. And if it is professionals who will decide who to let broadcast on that channel, then they’ll definitely win. However, the political element remains.
Are you planning to leave your post at Ekho Moskvy without waiting until May 31 or will you remain the station’s chief editor until then?
Being the chief editor of Ekho Moskvy, according to the company’s charter I cannot quit the post without a corresponding decision from the board of directors. The next board meeting is to be held on May 31. Until that time I shall continue to fulfil my responsibilities to the radio listeners and the shareholders. In addition, I will not allow a single journalist to leave the station prematurely. We will work as usual until the end of May.
When do plan to launch radio Arsenal onto the airwaves?
That question is technological, not political or economical. We plan to start testing the new signal in April when we will broadcast test programs. For the time being the journalists from Ekho Moskvy will work on Radio Arsenal in their free time and will not get paid anything. We will start full broadcasts from June 1.
What percentage of the shares in the new radio station will belong to the staff?
As I have already said, Nikolai Grakhov, a businessman from the Urals and one of the station’s investors, will become the general director. He will control more than 30% of the station’s shares. The rest of the shares will be divided amongst the team of journalists.
Will all your colleagues leave Ekho Moskvy with you to join Radio Arsenal?
Earlier 85% of the journalists agreed to move to Arsenal. But that’s being idealistic. In practice for some it may prove more difficult to move than to stay, in so far as all those who want to move to Arsenal will have to go back 10 years (Ekho Moskvy was founded in 1990 – Gazeta.Ru) The employees of Ekho have already been informed that the wages at Arsenal will be 30% lower. Therefore everybody must chose themselves where would be better for them personally.
28 ФЕВРАЛЯ 15:31
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