Only upperclassmen write to Okno newspaper

Vladimir Vetrov from the city of Yekaterinburg is the 18-year-old web-editor of an interned edition for upperclassmen, who is at the same time second-year student of Ural State University’s Journalist Faculty. Being only 18 years old, Vladimir has already 40 publications in different editions. In addition to his journalist work for Okno newspaper, he works for Okno-Media corporation advertising agency, covering Dragotsennosti Urala bank, Ural financial holding and Bely Kit trade net. PRAVDA.Ru correspondent asked Vladimir Vetrov several questions. Q. There are not so many Internet-editions for senior pupils in Russia. So, what are their peculiarities? A. There are almost not any editions for senior pupils at all. This is a very specific audience. It is not simple to create such a site which would be interesting for them. Okno site (Russian “Window”) is also not perfect in this sense. One more trouble is access to the Internet. Not every school boy has it at home, while not every school did not have it as well. And if an upperclassman comes in an Internet-cafe, he first of all will search for essays or write letters to his friends. Though recently many portals for children and youth started to appear that are being visited. That are purely commercial projects or ones supported by different grants. I am even envious. I am sure that our site also could get a financial support from some funds, if we had such an aim, though for us it is important to issue the newspaper and to create the site, but not to ask for money.

Q. Who are the authors and the readers of Okno – only Ekaterinburg youth? A. Only upperclassmen write to Okno newspaper. Though not only from Yekaterinburg. And there are no materials written by adults in the newspaper. While the audience is really big – upperclassmen, their friends, parents, teachers.

Q. You took part in all-Russian forum “Mass Media: New Generation”. Could you please tell me about it. Have you find like-minded persons there? A. Yes, during the forum, I was just in Moscow. And I had an impression, that half of the participants really had come to take part in the forum – to show themselves and to meet with others, to establish contacts etc., while others had come only to eat in restaurants free of charge, to walk in Moscow and to drink beer. Though, in general I was satisfied with the forum: I became acquainted with many people.

Q. What are the tasks of Okno as of an Internet-edition: education, information?

A. The main task of Okno is to give the teenager a possibility to express himself and to be heard, to write about what is interesting for him and for people of his age. The newspaper does not have enough paper type rages to publish all materials, while the Internet-version allows to solve this problem. Now, we also have PodOKOnnik – ONLINE section on our site. I cannot not formulate our task so simple, they seem to be both education and information.

Q. What do you suppose are prospects of the Internet in Yekaterinburg, in Ural region, in Russia? What is an obstacle for it and what could accelerate it? A. The Internet is being quickly developed in Yekaterinburg. We have more than a dozen of providers in our city. At the same time, computer centres and Internet-clubs are being opened from time to time. The traffic within our city is free of charge, and, you know, you could find absolutely everything on the sites of Yekaterinburg.

Q. And what prospects does Okno Internet-edition have?

A. The site is really developing very fast. Recently, we opened the page of weekly and monthly competitions. The site is not perfect from design point of view, though it works quickly. And you know, within recent two months, readers from 15 countries visited our site. It seems really to be very interesting. And I would like to wish you to read Okno.

Vladimir Vetrow was interviewed by Andrei Lubenski PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/02/08/36829.html