Opinions & Interviews
Belarusian PR firms encouraged to dominate domestic market
MINSK, 3 May (BelTA) – Belarusian public relations agencies should be major players on the country’s PR market, First Deputy Information Minister Pavel Legky told BelTA on the sidelines of the conference-session “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Communications, or How Not to Get Lost in Markets, Audience, and Trends” held as part of the Mass Media in Belarus expo in Minsk.
The PR Day event was held at the Mass Media in Belarus expo on 3 May. “The Information Ministry attaches great importance to the development of public relations. PR is not only about certain ideas, positive images and reputation. It is also about business. We want the Belarusian PR market to be dominated by Belarusian companies, and this is something we have been working toward,” Pavel Legky said.
He noted that pubic relations go hand in hand with mass communications industry and urged them to build efficient cooperation. “Public relations professionals should be undoubtedly on good terms with journalists. Results of mutual cooperation could be even better, especially from the point of view of developing public-private partnership in this sector,” Pavel Legky noted.
He emphasized that all government bodies employ press secretaries and PR specialists. “Everyone understands that they need to work with general public. More so, they need to work smart. This means we need to train qualified specialists in the country. It is also important that Belarusian PR business and PR professionals working for government bodies such as heads of press services and press secretaries do not operate in parallel universes but keep in touch with each other, exchange best practices and ideas, and work on joint projects. This will benefit everyone,” the first deputy minister noted.
According to Pavel Legky, another aim of the PR Day event was to involve regional mass media in public relations processes. “The public relations business is best developed in the capital city. We want representatives of regional media outlets who are participating in the expo to network, exchange contacts, and start to cooperate. Moreover, a lot of professional journalists become PR professional and vice versa, which is good,” Pavel Legky added.
The Mass Media in Belarus expo in Minsk will stay open till 4 May. Taking part in the forum are over 50 exhibitors which represent mass media outlets of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic states, Uzbekistan and China. The expo reflects the whole range of the information space in the country. Among the participants of the forum are printed and audio-visual state and regional mass media, Internet resources, news agencies, cable TV operators and distributors, publishing houses. The central themes of the exhibition include the 75th anniversary of Belarus' liberation from the Nazis, the 2nd European Games, modern Internet technologies and the revival of the native land. On 3 May, the Dipservice Hall (4 Voyskovy lane) in Minsk will host the awards ceremony for the winners of the national contest of printed mass media Golden Letter. Over 330 applications have been received this year. The Mass Media in Belarus expo will mark Children's Day on 4 May. BelTA's photo correspondent Oksana Manchuk will hold a master class for young photographers.
The Mass Media in Belarus expo has been held annually since 1997 by the Information Ministry with assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Minsk City Hall, the national exhibition center BelExpo, other government agencies, top mass media, and public organizations.
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