Russian Media
.Explodes In Israel

Newspapers and magazines abound
with the tide of new immigrants.

MY>K4VHA

B CTPECCE

Special to The Jewish News

1

t's Friday morning and a
' long line of impatient
Russian speakers stand
outside a shop door, waiting
for it to open. St. Petersburg?
No, Tel Aviv, and it's the
weekend newspapers in Rus-
ian they are waiting for,
rather than food. "The Rus-
sian olim may not have much
money, but they are more
than ready to spend the little
they have on the news," says
Kfar Saba news agent
Menachem Asher. "This is an
'educated, intelligent gi-oup of
people and newspapers and
magazines are important to
them!'
From two small publica-
- .tions in 1990, the Israeli-
Russian reader can now
—choose from several high
uality dailies, tabloids,
eeklies and a bright new
glossy women's magazine.
The top papers' circulations
are on a par with many long-
established Hebrew dailies
(more than 40,000) but
readership is believed to be
"nine times that figure, as
copies are regularly passed
around.
Standards are also im-
pressively high. "Quality is
important to the Russian im-
migrant:' says Sergei Belot-
. zerkovsky, former editor of a
local Ukrainian Jewish news-
paper. "Although content was
censored in the former Soviet
Union, the standard of news-
papers was always very high
in terms of language and
. style?'
High quality is not univer-
sal, of course. Although many
newspapers have a full com-
plement of qualified, compe-
tent staff, others have been
known to fill some of their
pages by "borrowing" froth
the Israeli and Russian press.
Some, according to a jour-
nalist from one small paper,
"use bits and pieces from
several stories to give it an
original flavor!"
The current bestseller, ac-
cording to Mr. Belotzerkov-
sky, is the daily Nasha Strana
(Our Country), first publish-
ed in 1975, with a circulation
of about 20,000 daily and

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The blossoming of
the Russian media
is not limited to
television and
press.

sional and well written and
has quickly achieved a cir-
culation of about 40,000. Says
30-year-old former Moscow
resident Igor. Osciznik, "I
read Novosti every day for the
news and Vremya on
weekends for the features and
supplements. Both are very
interesting and informative!'
Others on the market include
Yediot Israel (Israel News),
published by the Hebrew dai-
ly Yediot Aharonot, Krug,
Sputnik and Echo, a twice
weekly steamy tabloid.
One of the hottest new
publications on the market is
Portrait, a stylish glossy,
women's magazine edited by
Emma Sotnikova. Published
by Joanna Yehiel, a savvy
former Jerusalem Post editor,
extensive market research
was undertaken before star-
ting the project. "We cater to
a literate, educated populaf
tion which reads voraciously,
and offer them good, unbias-
ed articles on subjects of in-
terest to new olim," she says.
One, for example, described
how a, mother handled the
fears relating to her son's brit
milah (circumcision). Others

quoro

HAPORA

WZPS p hoto cou rtesy Portrait.

CAROL NOVIS

45,000 on weekends. Novosti
Nedeli (News of the Week)
comes in second with slight-
ly fewer regular buyers, but
both papers offer well-written
stories, with Shabbat sup-
plements covering areas such
as humor, literature and
women's interests. Says news
agent Asher, "Russian
families average two or three
papers on a Friday. That's an
amazing dedication to
reading the news!'
The weekly Vremya (Time)
is comparatively new and
highly successful. Published
by the Hebrew newspaper
Ma'ariv, it was launched by
the late Robert Maxwell's
Mirror Group in March 1991.
"By 10 a.m. you can't find a
copy anywhere," claims Mr.
Belotzerkovsky. "It's profes-

PORTRAIT, a women's magazine.

have included explanations
on how to eat an avocado
(unknown in Russia) and how
to prepare Chanukah dough-
nuts. Fashion pieces cater to
immigrants on a shoe-string
budget — "How to transform
an old sweater into some-
thing new" — as well as those
interested in up-to-the-
minute fashion. "I'm trying
to provide both fantasy and
reality," says Ms. Yehiel, "and
a magazine as bright and at-
tractive as anything on the
market!' It seems to be work-
ing. The first issue in
December 1991, sold out in
two days. The next month
20,000 copies were published
and again it sold out. "People
were photocopying it and giv-
ing it to friends;' she says.
Israeli television has also
adapted to the needs of the
new Russian arrivals. In ad-
dition to the Friday magazine
program on educational tele-
vision, Israel's new second
channel broadcasts a
20-minute news program five
days a week. According to
spokesperson Michal Levy,
"We get very enthusiastic

feedback!" Another popular
program is the half-hour
magazine "Koltim b Shta-
yim" (Absorbing on Two)
broadcast every other week
on. Israel's second channel.
The show also has two
presenters, Tala Tchapifcheva
who speaks in Russian and
Micha Friedman who speaks
in Hebrew, with the two
languages mixing freely. "It's
the synthesis," says Levy. "We
want to give olim the feeling
that the program is Israeli as
well as Russian!'

The blossoming of the Rus-
sian media is not limited to
television and press. The
Israel Broadcasting Authori-
ty established "REKA," a
local Russian and Amharic
language radio station, about
a year ago for new olim and
it has since become one of the
most popular stations on
Israeli radio.
According to Yaakov Ben-
Dor, a former oleh from the
former Soviet Union and now
the radio network's producer,
"Survey results showed that
85 percent of adults from the

former Soviet Union listen to
the station regularly. It
reminds them of their culture
and roots!" The program in-
cludes Hebrew and Russian
music, a daily review of the
Russian newspapers, a review
of the Hebrew press, a regular
lesson in Hebrew, emphasiz-
ing the correct accent, and
programs offering informa-
tion on mortgages, politics
and culture in Israel. Jewish
tradition is not forgotten
either, a twice-weekly pro-
gram introduces listeners to
Jewish history and Torah.
When, due to a salary
dispute, the staff went on
strike, panicky listeners
phoned in and offered to pay
part of the salaries
themselves so the station
could resume operations. "It's
hard to overemphasize how
important the Russian media
is to new ohm," says Ben-Dor.
"It's more than just news and
entertainment. lb a popula-
tion not yet comfortable in
Hebrew, the media has
become a lifeline!" ❑

WZPS

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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