At least 2,970 media outlets ceased operations in Russia last year. More than half of them were print publications. Deputy General Director of Interfax news agency Yuri Pogorely said, Kommersant reports.
According to him, the physical infrastructure for distributing media continues to shrink, especially in the print segment.
«Printing is in a terribly difficult state — both in terms of distribution and in terms of physical production,» Yuri Pogorely emphasized.
He added that most of the new print media are represented by scientific, thematic and entertainment magazines. Among the new online publications are websites of government agencies that previously operated without official registration.
As the publications note, over the past 20 years, the number of newspaper kiosks in Russia has decreased fourfold. This is due, in particular, to rising rents and the refusal of regional authorities to renew contracts with press distributors.
