Public Post

Founders

The website PublicPost was registered in August, 2009 and re-registered in October of the 2011th on Blogpost company. Blogpost possesses on a parity basis to the companies"Interfax", "Sberbank of Russia" and "Education - the 21st century" which only owner is Alexey Venediktov.

History

2011: Start of the edition

On November 16, 2011 it became known^[1]that Interfax group together with the Chief Editor of Echo of Moscow radio station Alexey Venediktov and Sberbank will open the new Internet portal PublicPost.

The website will be devoted to social and political news. Nargiz Asadova who was Venediktov's deputy on Echo of Moscow earlier is appointed the Chief Editor of the project. As Asadova reported Izvestia, the website will be constructed by the principle of "symbiosis between the platform of blogs and professional journalism". Asadova was engaged in blogs on the website of Echo.

On the website of the project it is reported that on PublicPost "everyone will be able to tell about an event in the city, the country or the world" and also "give an assessment to the events". As expected, the project can be started next week. Edition as a part of 15-20 people will work on it.

The edition had to combine posts of normal users with news content from professional journalists, however gradually materials of edition moved to the forefront.

As specify Izvestia, Sberbank will be responsible for a financial part of the project, apparently. The deputy CEO of Interfax Alexey Gorshkov also reported to the newspaper that the project is going to be output in zero on operating profit by 2015.

No official comments from Venediktov arrived yet. However in the account in Twitter Venediktov delivered the link to news on the website of Echo of Moscow which duplicates material of Izvestia.

2013: Closing of the edition

Project closure became known in June, 2013.

On July 4 the former editor of Public Post Natalya Konradova wrote to Facebook that the website closed already was deleted despite promises of investors to save it in Network throughout some time. According to Konradova, it could be connected with the fact that one of users of the website published a post "with heading in which there were words of "Fishing seasons' and "¼Òñá¬'", and printout of this material got to Presidential Administration. At the same time the journalist specified that this information has no documentary confirmations.

Meanwhile, as the project director Alexey Gorshkov said, he did not give a promise to save access to the closed project. "Edition really addressed to me with such request — Gorshkov said. — I answered that I personally against have nothing, but such decisions are made by owners".

Owners, according to the CEO, considered that if the project is closed, then it is necessary to close also the website.

"When you close the plant — logically that you any more will let nobody there — Gorshkov explained. — There were no people that to support him, money that to pay these people, sense in further existence of the website".

In July, 2013 it became known that project closure of Public Post was connected only with its unprofitability. About it Lenta.ru was told by the CEO of the project Alexey Gorshkov.

Earlier it was suggested that the portal was closed for the political reasons.

According to Gorshkov, the management of Public Post expected to bring the project to self-sufficiency in three-four years. However, in spite of the fact that the edition "neplokho startovalo" on a wave of activation of social and political life in the fall of 2011, was not succeeded to reach desirable indicators.

"To the middle of 2012 we reached the level of 40-50 thousand users a day — Gorshkov told. — We hoped to reach by the end of the year 100 thousand because after this mark the websites begin to interest really advertisers".

However, according to the CEO, despite considerable costs, by the end of 2012 interest in Public Post began to fall down, and the website did not overcome a mark of 100 thousand visitors in day. The annual income from the website did not exceed the tenth part of costs for it. With respect thereto the decision to close the project was made.

Alexey Gorshkov suggested to leave statements for the possible political background on conscience of their authors.

Notes