How can Belarusian mass media become even more successful? Alexander Lukashenko outlines priorities for mass media

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has outlined seven priorities in the work of mass media during his speech at the Forum of the media community of Belarus, BELTA reports.

Speaking about the development of the mass media at the present stage, the head of state outlined the areas where there is still room for improvement.

According to the President, the first thing to focus on is the formation of a national information style of broadcasting with an increase in the share of production of own quality, competitive products. “I am not calling to give up foreign content, but everything we buy should correspond to our way of life, traditions, culture, mentality. At the very least we should not clog our airwaves with bloody, immoral and vulgar stories. I have already talked about this. We need an ideological filter,” emphasized Alexander Lukashenko.

The need to expand the pool of experts is the next aspect, emphasized the head of state. We need new faces. It is necessary to look for such experts both in the regions and in the industries.

We need to strengthen propaganda and counter-propaganda, ideological work. This is the third aspect to which the head of state drew attention. “I want young journalists to learn this,” the head of state said. - There is no need to be ashamed of these words and concepts. Or do they not exist in the West? They do. They just called it by another word - PR, i.e. work with public opinion. The essence is the same. So let them work with public opinion on their own territory”.

“We should not be fed with all kinds of talk about supposedly independent media, democratic values. We see how they imprison their journalists, closing media and persecuting anyone who dares to disagree with the policy and actions of the authorities,” said Alexander Lukashenko. There are many examples of such actions in different countries of the world - from the U.S. and the European Union to Moldova, the Baltic States, Ukraine and Georgia.

Some may try to draw some parallels with the situation in Belarus in 2020, but this, according to the President, is an absolutely incorrect comparison. In Belarus, the claims against individual journalists were not because of their opinion or position, but because they behaved like traitors - they started to break and crumble the country. “Here we fought against this. Including asking journalists - for breaking the laws,” the head of state emphasized.

The fourth thing the President emphasized was to maintain a balance of militant and creative materials in the media, which should be equally bright.

Now, as the President noted, there is a special demand from people for a peaceful, creative agenda. “When you show war, show peaceful labor as well. Because we do not want to go to war, and I hope very much that we will not have to do it”.

It is necessary to come out with creative stories on popular digital platforms much more often, translating and voicing the facts into other languages, convinced Alexander Lukashenko.

“I have never demanded to filter information, creating in the media ‘parallel worlds’ of universal prosperity and silencing acute topics. You know my approach: people should see and know the truth. And it is useful for someone to draw conclusions,” the President emphasized, referring to the fifth aspect - the need to cover problematic and critical issues.

In his opinion, it is important that different points of view, including those of a critical nature, be presented both on the air and in the press.

The sixth priority concerns the work of the print media - newspapers and magazines. The Presidential Administration is of the opinion that newspapers and magazines should become elite media at the current stage of society's development.

Regarding the work on the Internet, the head of state emphasized that it is a challenge for journalists. “The information field is developing without boundaries, and in every sense,” the President noted. - The lack of moral and ethical boundaries is especially worrying. No matter how difficult it is, this challenge must be met.”

Now, as the President noted, there is a special demand from people for a peaceful, creative agenda. “When you show war, show peaceful labor as well. Because we do not want to go to war, and I hope very much that we will not.

It is necessary to come out with creative stories and plots on popular digital platforms much more often, translating and voicing the facts into other languages, believes Alexander Lukashenko.

“I have never demanded to filter information, creating in the media ‘parallel worlds’ of universal prosperity and silencing acute topics. You know my approach: people should see and know the truth. And it is useful for someone to draw conclusions,” the President emphasized, referring to the fifth aspect - the need to cover problematic and critical issues.

In his opinion, it is important that different points of view, including those of a critical nature, be presented both on the air and in the press.

The sixth priority concerns the work of the print media - newspapers and magazines. The Presidential Administration is of the opinion that newspapers and magazines should become elite media at the current stage of society's development.

Regarding work on the Internet, the head of state emphasized that it is a challenge for journalists. “The information field is developing without boundaries, and in every sense,” the President noted. - The lack of moral and ethical boundaries is especially worrying. No matter how difficult it is, this challenge must be met.”

“Our journalists and experts should be more active in the digital sphere. It is important to learn how to resist artificial intelligence in recognizing fakes created by it,” Alexander Lukashenko said. - It is difficult. But it is necessary. We haven't thought deeply in this direction yet, but we see that the time has come.

We have a lot to fight and fight with some things on the Internet, like instructions on how to assemble a bomb and detonate it.

Summarizing what was said, the head of state expressed confidence that the participants of the media forum will propose new ideas, which, among other things, will become a solution to the identified problematic issues.

He called it symbolic to hold the forum in the days of victorious May. The country has recently celebrated Victory Day, while the most important date in the Belarusian history - the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from Nazi invaders - lies ahead.

“The heroic history of the Soviet people is the greatest treasure. It is our main teacher,” emphasized Alexander Lukashenko. He reminded how during the years of the Great Patriotic War, the years of occupation of Belarus there was a fierce battle for the future - not only at the front, but also on the pages of printed media, on the waves of radio broadcasting. The press in the occupied territories published poems and prose by collaborators who swore an oath to Hitler. On its pages they told about the “beautiful future” of Belarusians under the rule of “great Germany” with orientation on the “new Europe”, spread myths about atrocities of partisans, Bolsheviks and others, promised some “freedoms”. “We know the price of these ‘freedoms’ and ‘new European future’ - every third resident of Belarus. And maybe even every second, given the investigation of the General Prosecutor's Office on genocide,” the President noted.

According to him, nothing has changed in the rhetoric of modern sources of information engaged by the West - social networks, Telegram channels, all kinds of chat rooms. “The narratives are the same. Only the targets are new. Back then, they discredited the image of the Soviet Union. Today they wipe their feet on Russia, Belarus and similar states,” said Alexander Lukashenko.