Official media should not enjoy market advantages -- Vladimir Putin

President Putin thinks that the official authorities should have their official organs of the press to lay down their position and points of view. The Russian president said this at a press conference for Russian and foreign journalists in the Kremlin on Monday.

But they should not be given advantages on the market, he is firm. The head of state called for combating a situation when the official mass media, local for one, enjoy indirect profits bypassing laws through affiliated structures, advertising.

The president promised to arrange a meeting between governors and managers of the local media bodies so as to arrange a better interaction between them because "the sides must meet each other halfway". "We must understand that the mass media are part of our society," he said. "The regional media, governors and entire Russia are interested in that," the head of state pointed out.