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BBC Monitoring
Putin sees role for media in boosting Russian economy
Source: Russian Public TV (ORT), Moscow, in Russian 0800 gmt 18 Jun
02
[Presenter] At the moment President Vladimir Putin is meeting a delegation from the national conference "The media industry: Where reforms are leading" in the Kremlin. The head of state believes that a qualitatively new phase is starting in the development of the news business in this country and Vladimir Putin advocates economic independence for the mass media.
[Putin, at conference] For many years the media industry was mostly linked with politics and fighting among interest groups but in fact there is nothing surprising about that. I would say that this is commonplace in all countries. Here, unfortunately, there were particular circumstances which, in my opinion, made the media not an independent business, not a profitable business in the true meaning of the word. It was used mainly as a tool in the fight to secure political advantage in competition. In competition with all the other, much more profitable, sectors of the economy. I am absolutely sure that you will agree with me, I don't know whether you'll be saying it out loud, but that is just how it was.
A qualitatively new phase is now getting started in the development of the news business. I would like to think that a qualitatively new phase is starting. In any event, this is clear from the subjects being covered, being raised at the conference. We are talking about turning the media industry into a modern market sector of the national economy, a sector that doesn't just have its own potential for growth but is also able to stimulate the development of advanced industrial technologies in other areas.
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