A niche has emerged in the media market for the publication of a daily business newspaper.

The first print issue of the RBC Daily business newspaper came out on September 25. The company's General Director Yury Rovensky has agreed to tell us what the situation on the business publication market is like, how many business newspapers there should be, and what RBC's plans are.

- The business publication market is booming now, as the demand for business information is continuing to rise. Business currently plays a major part in the lives of practically anyone living in a metropolis. This is one of our main interests, as well as one of the most widely discussed topics. Probably one of the very few places where they don't talk about business now is the weather channel, whereas just up until recently this subject was only discussed in specialized magazines. This is certainly no coincidence. Everything from sports to music has become a business. Ask your friends what they dream of - half of them will say that they would like to start their own business. It used to be that the only thing someone would aspire to to the same degree was about becoming an astronaut. Now, isn't it ironic that the first space tourists are all businessmen! How can someone not wish to make his or her career in business? This is what I mean when I say that a favorable situation has emerged in society for a new business newspaper to be released.

- What is the essence of the new project?

- We produce a serious publication, which is simultaneously easily comprehensible to a wide audience. It only features information that has practical value. A businessman has little time, and so we launched a newspaper that is written in a simple, concise and objective manner. However, RBC Daily cannot be called RBC's new project. The online version of this newspaper has been around on the Internet for three years: it is easily recognizable, and it has a readership in excess of 120,000 people. With the launch of the print edition, we wanted people to be able to receive information in a familiar format and a familiar language, regardless of whether they have just got back home from work, or working on the computer, or traveling. We want our readers to receive information in a way that is the most convenient to them.

- The business publication market is one of the most competitive ones today. In your opinion, how many business newspapers does the country need?

- Exactly as many as there are market segments. The "business people" category is a very broad concept. A wise publisher will always know how to best position his product. The business audience may be broken down in different ways: by age, location, gender, as well as by volume or scale of business.

- RBC is one of the main market players on the Russian Internet. What share of the print media market are you expecting to gain? Should we be anticipating a market realignment?

- We would like to secure a market share that is comparable to that which we have on the Internet. As an information resource specializing in business information, rbc.ru is an undeniable leader. As for advertising revenues, ours are considerably greater than what any of our competitors get. We hope to achieve the same success in the print market.

- What should we expect from the RBC Daily newspaper in the near future?

- We will launch distribution outside of the Russian capital. We will definitely be entering other regions. We already want to increase the publication's circulation this year. The newspaper will also have supplements.

- Now the only thing you lack is a business radio station…

- It's true, we still don't have a business radio in this country, but rumor has it that a Business-FM station is just about to be launched… But we are not planning on taking our chances with radio yet. We are uncertain about the potential of this market segment. It has been talked about for a long time that newspapers becoming anachronistic, but there is still a fair amount of time left before the opportunities in the newspaper market dry up. As for radio, this sector's capacity is unimpressive, and the downward trend in its advertising budgets is easily traced. The market situation is extremely important to us, as all of our projects exist thanks solely to advertising proceeds.

- The newspaper has been around for a month already - what are your first impressions? How was it accepted?

- It was a successful start. The newspaper has found its niche right away, which is yet more proof that we were right to release the publication in a new format. I will not be able to mention all the compliments that I've been told since the launch - they should first of all be addressed to the newspaper's editorial office. We are pleased that readership loyalty to our publication is growing and that we have already received a lot of feedback.