Lugansk Media Center celebrates Two-Year Anniversary
SocietyThe Lugansk People's Republic Head Igor Plotnitskiy issued a decree on Establishing the State News Agency "Lugansk Media Center" on December, 4th, 2014.
"A news agency has been established, and I ask all ministers to assist it by providing information," Plotnitsky said at one of the meetings with the Government that were held daily during that tough winter.
The decree said the new agency was attributed the status of an official online news platform of the LPR Head and was established to "publish reliable information on the events in the Lugansk People's Republic, legislative and executive powers work, and to publish laws and regulations".
During these two years Lugansk Media Center has been growing up and developing together with the Republic. The agency's first news items, though quick and dirty, were used by major Russian and international news agencies and have contributed, along with the photos and videos, to creating a comprehensive picture of LPR people fight for freedom. Lugansk Media Center and its work has become a manifestation of Lugansk and Lugansk region return to life, as western occupants failed to conquer this land.
The agency has always stood current on the events unfolding in Donbass.
It was the Lugansk Media Center press room where LPR Head signed the Agreement on withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of contact on February, 20th, 2015.
The agency's correspondents have always been at the forefront, be it military action or reconstruction of infrastructure and national economy.
Just another proof of the agency's great performance is that Ukrainian mass media are routinely citing and quoting Lugansk Media Center publications, though often trying to misinterpret the information and brainwash their audience into believing that things go bad in Lugansk.
The web site of the news agency has been hit by cyber-attacks plotted by outer forces who conspired to deprive Lugansk people of information.
By this moment Lugansk Media Center has published 19.5 thousand articles, including news items, interviews, reports, photo stories and documents.
Representatives of Donbass authorities, Ukraine, Russia, European and other countries have spoken to the agency.
About one thousand press conferences and briefings were held in Lugansk Media Center.
The agency's audience is continuously and sustainably grows: on the day LPR Head signed a decree on establishing the agency the number of website users stood at 1.6 thousand. Half a year later, on June, 4th, 2015, the figure was at 42 thousand in a day. A year later the website statistics showed 65 thousand readers per day.
Over these two years overall 9.75 mln people visited the agency's website, its visits amounted to 34.5 mln, with 65-68 thousand daily views.
An average visitor spends about 5 minutes per day reading the website, opening at least four news items. 62.7 percent of the audience are males, mostly young adults and middle aged people (75 percent).
The majority of readers come from LPR or Kiev-controlled Lugansk region areas (68 percent), Ukraine (18.4 percent), Russia (10.6 percent) and other countries: German audience comprises about 25 thousand readers, 19 thousand in the US and 10 thousand in Italy.
Overall, citizens of 118 countries of the world have read Lugansk Media Center news.
In September 2016 an English-language website of Lugansk Media Center was launched to provide English-speaking audience with reliable information on events in Donbass.
