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On Sunday night, Žydrūnas Pilitauskas, the editor of the publication Plungės žinios, shared the news on his social media account that the company’s activities are suspended. Plungės žinios, which was released on Friday, is the last.
According to him, the publication, which has existed for more than 18 years, although politicians and businessmen called it “the product of a day”, was forced to suspend its activities.
The newspaper was born from the initiative of local journalists: hated by the dictates of former publication owners and politicians, they founded a new publication.
Thus, in Plungė, which was already famous even in various periodicals, another appeared: “Plungė žinios”, unafraid to criticize the authorities, writing on topics discussed in Plungė, but in silence.
He bought food during the quarantine, but not the newspapers.
15 minutes Ž.Pilitauskas stated that the last point was quarantine. He believes that the consequences of the restrictions that have plagued our lives for several months will be felt for a long time and will only increase.
“It is only after the announcement that quarantine will be introduced since March 14. Advertising and promotional customers will disappear immediately, along with revenue. Newspaper sales fell 20 percent in the first week and the same in the second. People did not have newspapers in mind: I myself carry newspapers around the store and I saw that people buy food and alcohol, or more precisely, alcohol and food, “said the editor.
Photo by Aurelia Jašinskienė / 15min.lt / Plungė
Ž.Pilitauskas also criticized the local government, which forms a distorted competition between publications. “The simplest example: the municipal administration subscribes to the publications of the district, only the one who does not like the government subscribing to a subscription, and the loyal one – 6. The same is the case with the purchase of advertising services in the Press. Conditions are created so that we cannot even participate in the competition. For example, the requirement to have a print of at least 2,000 copies. 1,000 is sufficient for the ministries and the government, not for our municipality, “said the editor of Plungės žinios.
Opened: The publication had still not managed to get out of the 2008 crisis. After an overnight tax reform, the publication suffered huge losses.
This crisis caused by the coronavirus hit as needed. Ž.Pilitauskas regretted that the regional press did not receive any of the promised support to companies. “When advertisers come back, personal ad requests are hard to predict. I think we have to suffer for another half year, which is an unbearable burden on the company. It took us 2.5 months to realize that the end had come.” lamented.
As a result of this decision, 4 people will lose their jobs.
Ž.Pilitauskas does not yet know what he will do himself. In the meantime, he will handle the bankruptcy affairs of the company.
D.Radzevičius: “We have lost some diversity”
D. Radzevičius, president of the Union of Journalists of Lithuania, emphasized that Plungė had always been a unique country. In the small town of Samogitia, three newspapers, reflecting different opinions, were published, and a cultural newspaper, periodically published.
“I don’t want to be a prophet, but we see that this time it has become a very difficult test for print publications. Plungės žinios became the first to cease operations. Others reported a decrease in periodicity during quarantine, and some reported they moved to online platforms. He reported that this is done temporarily, but when it will come back, we don’t know. We regret that the provision of state support to the regional press has not progressed. Therefore, we cannot rule out that there may be more bad news, as reported by the editor of Plungės žinios, ”he said. 15 minutes.
Photo by Ernesta Čičiurkaitė / 15min / Dainius Radzevičius
According to him, the regional press today relies more on the hard and enthusiastic work of employees.
“But the summer is coming, when the advertising volumes are already decreasing. Therefore, I do not know what the situation will be in the fall. Perhaps the people of Plungė had evaluated this beforehand and made such a decision. However, with their We lost part of our democracy, our diversity of opinions. In the regions, this was what made me feel uncomfortable when there was a lack of publications that reflected a different opinion, capable of criticizing the local government. I want the people of Plungė to find ways to continue its activities, ”said the president of the Union of Journalists of Lithuania.
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