«Mediastrike» (also «Media Strike», «MS Holding») is a Nizhny Novgorod media holding company established in early 2012 on the basis of the media assets of businessman Dmitry Arzhanov. It brought together several city media outlets and infrastructure venues with the stated aim, according to management, of preserving and developing the traditions of Nizhny Novgorod journalism.[4]

Founding and Composition

For approximately two years before the holding company was established, structures controlled by Dmitry Arzhanov had been systematically acquiring Nizhny Novgorod media assets.[3] In December 2011, Dmitry Raskopin — who had previously served as Director of the Department of Public Relations and Information of the Nizhny Novgorod city administration — was invited to head the new entity; on 12 December 2011, he left his municipal post and took charge of the emerging structure.[1][3]

By May 2012, MS Holding comprised: Volga TV Company, the Rendezvous and Business FM radio stations, the NTA-Privolzhye (nta-nn.ru) news agency, the Birzha publishing house with its Birzha.ru portal, the premium-class press centre «Media Strike Hall», and the multidisciplinary information and consulting centre «Media Strike».[4][5] The holding company's headquarters and key editorial offices were located at the International Trade Centre Varvarskaya Street.[1]

The first public events at the new venue were scheduled for January 2012: a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Birzha newspaper and a presentation of the Birzha Plus publishing house.[1]

The Media Strike Hall Press Centre

The Media Strike Hall press centre was positioned as the most modern and technically equipped venue for public events in Nizhny Novgorod.[1] In May 2012 it hosted a presentation of Nizhny Novgorod media outlets as part of the international conference «Russian Journalism of the 21st Century: Content and Formats of Contemporary Mass Media». The event drew around 200 journalists, political analysts, and public figures from more than 50 regions of Russia, as well as representatives from foreign countries; guests included Vsevolod Bogdanov, Chairman of the Union of Journalists of Russia, Yury Polyakov, Editor-in-Chief of Literaturnaya Gazeta, and Aleksey Kara-Murza, Head of a Department at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences.[4]

Personnel Changes

In June 2012, Dmitry Raskopin was appointed General Director of the Volga television company, relinquishing day-to-day management of the holding; Denis Moskvin was simultaneously appointed head of the MS Holding information and analytics centre.[5] According to available information, Raskopin served as General Director of Volga from June 2012 to May 2013, after which his return to the holding's structures was planned.[2]

Sources

  1. Newsroom24 — Representatives of the Union of Journalists of Russia got acquainted with Nizhny Novgorod media outlets
  2. NIA «Nizhny Novgorod» — The media holding belonging to Dmitry Arzhanov to be headed by Dmitry Raskopin
  3. Vremya N — Raskopin heads the largest media holding
  4. KP — Nizhny Novgorod — Dmitry Raskopin appointed General Director of TV company «Volga»
  5. global52.ru — RASKOPIN Dmitry Vladimirovich — Global52.ru