THE PUBLICATION OF THE “RUSSIAN REPORTER” MAGAZINE: DISCONTINUED OR SUSPENDED?

The editors of the "Russian Reporter" magazine announced the termination of its publication. It is especially symbolic that this was done through the social networks - the journalists posted a message on “Vkontakte” social network, and the editor-in-chief, Vitaly Leibin, posted the same message on Facebook. According to the official version, expressed by the editorial staff, the reasons for the closure of the magazine are economic. Is it connected with the effects, caused by the pandemic, or the circumstances are deeper and even more significant?

To begin with, many experts started to predict the closure of the magazine six months before. It was connected with the owner of the periodical - the “Expert” Media Holding. A significant share in the holding charter capital belonged to VEB.RF corporation, from which the company received a loan of 100 million rubles in 2013.

A large amount of borrowed funds was then explained by the financial difficulties – then the editor-in-chief, Valery Fadeev, named liquidation of the TV channel and the market conditions as the main reasons.

Everyone considered Oleg Deripaska, who owned almost 30% of the shares through his “Basic Element” company, to be the holding's beneficiary.

The current situation with the magazine is the result of the bankruptcy of the “Expert” group, a subsidiary of the holding. In July last year, the corresponding decree was issued by the Arbitration Court of Moscow, and the basis for it was a debt of almost 55 million rubles to Transcapitalbank. Then one of the leading managers of the editorial staff of the periodical, Marina Akhmedova, hastened to assure the public that the bankruptcy would not affect the work of the magazine. Her commentary on anonymous Telegram channels temporarily reassured the readers until VEB.RF filed a lawsuit in bankruptcy in early March.

The journalists of the magazine indicate in their appeal that they received letters about the termination of labor agreements from the employer, and add that a major source of funding was lost in March this year.

It remains only to guess, what kind of source it was. It is worth recalling that in the 13-year history of the "Russian Reporter" journal ", there has already been a period of suspension of publication from the summer of 2016 to February 2017. That time it was explained by the situation in the advertising market and the drop in the print runs of paper periodicals.

Would it be possible for the "Russian reporter" to reborn from the ashes like a mythical Phoenix this time? During its inception, the magazine began with the regional publications (Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Samara), not immediately becoming a metropolitan publication. Now the editors say they will be able to resume publication when the opportunities arise. At the same time, the phrase in the message that “we may come up with something new” indicates that the traditional paper version of the magazine may be completely closed. The reporters note that they will work for social media, develop charitable and educational projects, and write for les.media website.