In a first, IHT prints edition in Moscow

By Sonia Kishkovsky International Herald Tribune

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2006

MOSCOW The International Herald Tribune has become the first international daily newspaper to be printed in Moscow.

 

As of the beginning of February, the newspaper is being printed and distributed in alliance with Independent Media Sanoma Magazines, an affiliate of SanomaWSOY, the Finnish media conglomerate. Independent Media publishes The Moscow Times, an English-language newspaper that appears Mondays through Fridays and has a reputation for hard-hitting news and feature stories often not covered by the Russian press, which has come under increasing Kremlin pressure.

 

"This will be the first time in Russian history that an international newspaper like the IHT will be published daily in Moscow, providing Russians and expatriates alike with global news at a time when freedom of speech is hotly discussed in Russia," Derk Sauer, chief executive of Independent Media, said in a statement.

 

Michael Golden, publisher of the IHT, said in a statement, "This is only the latest sign of the IHT's strengthened focus on and commitment to covering Europe, including Eastern Europe,"

 

The IHT, which is part of The New York Times Co., is printed daily in cooperation with local dailies in countries ranging from Israel and Germany to South Korea and Lebanon.

 

The New York Times already has a foothold in Russia. Since last year, Izvestia, the former newspaper of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. and now a respected general-interest daily, has been publishing a weekly English-language section of selected feature articles from The New York Times. Other Independent Media publications include The St. Petersburg Times and Vedomosti, a business newspaper that is published jointly with The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times, supplementing original articles with translated articles from the foreign publications.

 

Independent Media also has glossy magazines, like the Russian versions of Cosmopolitan and Harper's Bazaar, Yoga Journal, Harvard Business Review and the Robb Report, reflecting the wealth of some Russians and the increasing affluence of many others.

 

A number of Russian publications have some level of cooperation with foreign publications. Profil, a business weekly, used to reprint translations of articles from Business Week until a Russian edition of Business Week was started. Now Profil offers reprints from Der Spiegel.

 

Gazeta, a daily newspaper, is a syndication partner with The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph of London.