NTV is an all-Russian television channel that began broadcasting in 1993. NTV broadcasts from Moscow, from the Ostankino television center. In addition to the fact that NTV broadcasts throughout Russia, its broadcasts also extend beyond its borders.
The coverage of the NTV Mir channel includes the CIS and Baltic countries, as well as Western Europe, the Middle East, the USA and Canada, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. The NTV channel is part of the first digital terrestrial television multiplex DVB-T2. The NTV channel has temporary duplicates for broadcasting to Russian regions via satellite.
1993-1997: founding of the NTV channel and obtaining a frequency.
In the spring of 1993, journalists of the First Channel of Ostankino Oleg Dobrodeev and Evgeny Kiselev, who worked at the channel’s Information Television Agency to create the “Itogi” program broadcast on it, began to feel that this work no longer impressed them, dissatisfaction with their work resulted in the idea of creating a new TV channel. The channel on which they worked, according to Dobrodeev and Kiselev, worked more and more for Russian President Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, while a situation was developing in the country when people needed to open their eyes to what was happening.
In addition, it was not unreasonable to feel that after a series of employee dismissals, such as the dismissal of Yegor Yakovlev and Igor Malashenko, they could be next. Thus, the thought of creating a new TV channel became more and more obsessive. Kiselyov managed to contact businessman Vladimir Gusinsky, who was the owner of the joint-stock company Gruppa Most and the newspaper Segodnya, through his secretary Sergei Zverev. Journalists initially offered Gusinsky to finance the production of Itogi. However, he developed the already outlined idea of creating a separate television company.
In June 1993, Malashenko, Dobrodeev and Kiselev created Itogi LLP, which on October 10, 1993 began producing the programs “Itogi” and “Today”, which began airing on Channel Five. In July 1993, Mostbank, Stolichny, National Credit and the Itogi television company established NTV Television Company LLP. The television company was registered on July 14, 1993. Twenty percent of the company's shares belonged to Itogi LLP, the remaining eighty percent became part of the ownership of Mostbank, Stolichny Bank and National Credit Bank. It must be said that soon the last two banks will leave the shareholders.
As for the name of the company “NTV”, this abbreviation at the first stage did not mean anything.
Igor Malashenko became the president and general director of the NTV television company, on the advice of Kiselev and Dobrodeev, which they gave to Gusinsky; Oleg Dobrodeev, vice president of the television company and chief editor of its information service; Evgeny Kiselev, vice president and chairman of the board of directors of the television company. Immediately after its founding, the NTV channel began a struggle to obtain a frequency for broadcasting the channel.
It is also worth noting that by the time the channel began broadcasting, its team included a fairly solid staff of high-category journalists. Together with Dobrodeev, Malashenko and Kiselev, presenters Tatyana Mitkova, Mikhail Osokin, correspondents Vladimir Luskanov, Vladimir Lensky, Irina Zaitseva, Ernest Matskevichyus, Elena Kurlyandtseva, Alexander Khabarov, Alexander Gerasimov, Mikhail Svetlichny, Alexander Zarayelyan, Alexander Shashkov, Alexey joined the NTV team Burkov, Vasily Utkin, Elena Masyuk. When recruiting staff, the focus was on young, energetic and talented people. For example, Pavel Lobkov and Nikolai Nikolaev, also hired by NTV, had no journalistic education at all, but this did not stop them from making a brilliant career on the NTV channel.
By decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 22, 1993, from January 17, 1994, the NTV television company received evening time on the fourth television channel as an experiment. The channel's broadcasting time was limited, and the channel ran from six in the evening until midnight. In addition, the Russian state television and radio company Ostankino was invited to become a shareholder of NTV, while the chairman of the board of directors, Evgeny Kiselyov, was offered the position of chairman of Ostankino.
At the time of receiving airtime on Channel 5, the NTV television company produced only information programs - “Today”, “Itogi” and “Namedni”. In 1994, the satirical program “Dolls” was added to them.
Over time, the channel began to develop rapidly, although there were problems, but this did not frighten anyone. Neither the authorities nor other television companies were able to break the employees of the NTV channel, and its broadcasting began to spread to Western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa in January 1997.
On May 10, 1997, NTV correspondent Elena Masyuk, whose reports were very popular in Chechnya, was kidnapped there along with her film crew. After a month and a half of negotiations between the management of the television company and the militants and Shamil Basayev, the latter asked Masyuk for a ransom of two million dollars. As a result, the group was released on August 17.
Change of management at NTV channel.
On April 3, 2001, at a meeting of shareholders of the NTV television company, which was held in the Gazprom building, there was a change in the leadership of the television company. From now on, Boris Jordan becomes the general director of the NTV television company, Alfred Koch becomes the chairman of the board of directors, and Vladimir Kulistikov becomes the editor-in-chief.
On April 16, 2001, the editorial board of the NTV channel was created. It includes: Mitkova, Kulistikov, Parfenov, NTV channel news anchors Kirill Pozdnyakov and Pyotr Marchenko, NTV channel correspondents Vyacheslav Grunsky, Yuri Lipatov, Boris Koltsov, Vladimir Kondratyev, Alexey Pivovarov, Alexander Zinenko, Alexander Kolpakov, Alexander Khabarov, chief editor "Crime" program Vladimir Zolotnitsky. Leonid Parfyonov becomes the general producer of the NTV channel.
In parallel, the NTV channel’s rights to show a number of foreign films are expiring; some of the programs of the “old” NTV are being aired again after a change in leadership, but many of them have been closed forever over time. Until September 2001, the old design of the NTV channel remained in force.
After some presenters left NTV, their place in the Segodnya information program was taken by the employees remaining on NTV, as a rule, they were former correspondents of information programs; among the remaining correspondents who took the place of presenters, the following were on the channel: Anton Khrekov, Alexander Khabarov, Evgeniy Borkovsky, Denis Soldatikov, Yuri Lipatov, Natalya Zabuzova.
Years from 2001 to the present day, NTV is changing.
As a result of a meeting of the TV channel staff on April 25, 2001, Tatyana Mitkova became the new editor-in-chief of the TV channel, who was supported by NTV journalists and former editor-in-chief Vladimir Kulistikov, who withdrew his candidacy from the vote. On July 13, the Board of Directors of the NTV channel was re-elected, which now includes: Rem Vyakhirev , Vyacheslav Sheremet, Alfred Koch, Alexander Kazakov, Alexander Reznikov, Evgeny Kiselev, Sergey Skvortsov, Vladimir Kulistikov and Leonid Parfenov. However, a subsidiary of Gazprom-Media, Leadville Investment Ltd. filed a claim to declare the shareholders' meeting invalid. On September 17, instead of Kiselev and Skvortsov, Vladilen Arsenyev and Mikhail Shmushkovich began to join the Board of Directors, and the Board returned to the composition that was elected on April 3, and on September 20, the claim of Leadville Investment was satisfied.
On September 10, 2001, the slogan of the NTV channel became “NTV-New Television”. This is how the channel abbreviation is now deciphered. In addition, the graphic design and studio decorations of the NTV channel are also changing. It must be said that in addition to the external design of the channel, almost the entire broadcasting branch of the channel is changing.
The programs “Itogi”, “Voice of the People” and “Independent Investigation” that left NTV were replaced by alternative programs - “The Other Day” by Leonid Parfenov, “Freedom of Speech” by Savik Shuster and “Attention, Wanted!” Oleg Chertkov. In the 2001-2002 season, a large number of new NTV television projects appeared, launched with the direct participation of Alexander Oleinikov, who previously worked on the TV-6 channel, and Sergei Shumakov, a former producer of educational programs on ORT. In February 2002, morning broadcasting on the NTV channel also underwent major changes.
Under the new owner, Leonid Parfenov becomes the “face” of the channel. Under his leadership, the channel produced a number of documentary programs dedicated to the history of Russia - “Namedni 1961-2003: Our Era”, “Russian Empire”, “Living Pushkin”. The programs, it must be said, were awarded TEFI awards.
In 2001-2002, due to financial difficulties, the TV channel was on the verge of closure, as a result of which the NTV channel refused to produce a New Year's show, and some programs launched in previous NTV television seasons were closed. At the same time, the channel is experiencing problems with concluding a new contract for broadcasting matches of the Champions League football, which was concluded under the old management in 1997 - the channel refers to low broadcast ratings and makes a statement that the terms of the new contract are extremely unfavorable for it. However, the TV channel subsequently managed to reach an agreement, however, on terms less favorable to NTV.
The 2002-2003 season becomes a turning point for the NTV channel. It was during this period of time that the NTV channel began to actively develop, and domestic television series began to be broadcast on the channel. Instead of the evening ten-hour edition of the “Today” program, the “Country and the World” program began to be aired, and the “Today” program began to be aired every hour.
The 2003-2004 season does not start very well for the TV channel. Some programs that were launched on the air in the new season did not show enough viewer interest, and NTV began to squeeze out its closest competitor, the STS channel. Relations between the NTV team and its management also remained tense. In February 2004, the staff of the channel's information service was seriously reduced, about seventy channel employees were laid off, which the media associated with the preparation of NTV and other Gazprom-Media assets for sale or with a reluctance to spoil relations with the authorities in the future. Sienkiewicz introduced a service of duty editors, who reportedly determined the channel's information policy and self-censored it. In addition, a conflict was brewing between Leonid Parfenov, who had returned from vacation, and the new leadership.
The result of this conflict was that in July 2003, Leonid Parfenov’s original television show “Country and World” was unexpectedly sent on vacation and almost closed. In November, Nikolai Senkevich removed from “Namedni” a story about the book “Tales of a Kremlin Digger” by Elena Tregubova, which the journalist announced directly on air of the program. A similar story happened in May 2004, when the presenter included an interview with the widow of the Chechen separatist Zelimkhan Yandarbiev in his program. NTV editor-in-chief Alexander Gerasimov issued an order prohibiting the broadcast of this story, already seen by the Asian part of the country, on European air, at the request of the Russian intelligence services, so as not to influence the trial of Russian citizens suspected of this murder. Leonid Parfenov refused to comply with the order and published the text of the order in the Kommersant newspaper. The full text of the interview was also published there. As a result, the channel’s management considered this incident to be a gross violation of corporate ethics, and Parfenov’s program “Namedni” disappears from the air forever and he himself is fired from the channel.
In the 2005-2006 season, NTV relies on trash and crime. Proof of this is that the ratings of such television programs on the NTV channel as “Frank Confession”, “Profession - Reporter” and the new “Program Maximum” are, as they say, “soaring to the skies”. Subsequently, the fact of changing the broadcasting concept was also noted by both television critics and former employees of the channel. The channel is becoming truly “criminal,” meaning, of course, the concept.
In June 2009, Deputy General Director of NTV Alexander Nechaev announced the channel's transition to meaningful daytime broadcasting, and his words are confirmed by the launch of several new television programs on the NTV channel. At the end of the season, the heads of five TV channels praised the work of NTV, especially noting the success of the series "Capercaillie", which Konstantin Ernst called the best television series of the season. Vladimir Kulistikov highlighted on his channel the work of Pavel Lobkov, who returned in 2008, and the new project of Anton Khrekov “NTVshniki”, but criticized the humorous broadcasting network.
In 2012, several journalists left the channel for unknown reasons, including: the head of prime broadcasting Nikolai Kartozia, who worked under him Pavel Lobkovi Anton Krasovsky, Yulia Dezhnova, Alexey Egorov, the author of “Reporter Profession” Katerina Gordeeva, the chief editor of “Itogovaya” programs" Sofya Gudkova, Pavel Selin, Anton Khrekov and a number of other off-screen employees.
In November 2012, a fairly loud scandal occurred on the NTV channel, the cause of which was the closure of the “Own Game” program. The reason for the closure of the educational program was low ratings, but after the program management and the TV viewers themselves made a fuss about it, the program was restored and returned to the air. In addition, the program director of the NTV channel, Alexander Nechaev, states that from 2013 the channel will refuse to produce some programs, including “Program Maximum”. At the end of 2012, the NTV channel managed to outstrip Channel One in ratings for the first time in history.
According to the results of a study by TNS Gallup Media, the average daily audience of the TV channel in Moscow from January 28 to February 3, 2013 amounted to more than fourteen percent of all viewers, and the NTV channel became and, in comparison with other TV channels, became the most watched TV channel during this period.
NTV TV channel in the Yandex search engine.
When talking about the high ratings of the NTV channel, one should take into account not only the number of viewers, but also the number of requests made by users of the Yandex search resource. Over the past month, Yandex users searched for “NTV” 2,590,221 times, which is almost three times the number of requests for “Channel One.” This is also evidenced by the chart compiled by experts from the “Stock Leader” publication.
In addition, the NTV channel is very popular in the world, how great this popularity can be seen from the data in the table below:
Residents of the following towns have recently shown interest in the NTV channel:
Data shown: the first number is the number of impressions per month, the second is the regional popularity index.
- Kharkov 42 020 211%
- Odessa 24 508 162%
- Makhachkala 11 743 154%
- Kaluga 13 323 134%
- Stavropol 23 167 133%
- Belgorod 18,729 133%
- Lipetsk 16,456 130%
- Dnepropetrovsk 17 968 128%
- Voronezh 36 301 128%
- Tambov 10 660 126%
- Petrozavodsk 9 608 125%
- Lugansk 15,021 124%
- Kursk 13 331 122%
- Donetsk 31 104 121%
- Vitebsk 13 435 121%
- Ivanovo 11 164 120%
- Ryazan 15 433 119%
- Gomel 16 271 119%
- St. Petersburg 178 607 119%
- Krasnodar 36,799 117%
- Tula 17 177 117%
- Mogilev 11 810 116%
- Vologda 11,027 116%
- Tver 12 975 114%
- Moscow 515 417 112%
- Kaliningrad 10 665 111%
- Rostov-on-Don 52,750 111%
- Vladimir 10 522 111%
- Bryansk 13,892 110%
- Brest 11,898 109%
- Saratov 25 623 108%
- Murmansk 10 352 107%
- Samara 28,725 106%
- Togliatti 11,288 106%
- Yaroslavl 15,478 105%
In the fall of 1993, journalists of the Ostankino TV channel (in 1995 ORT; in 2002 Channel One) Oleg Dobrodeev and Evgeny Kiselev, as well as the deputy head of the channel, Igor Malashenko, with the financial support of banker Vladimir Gusinsky, created their own independent media, which would later become television company NTV.
More recently, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics split into pieces. The unstable situation in Russia is aggravated by the political and economic crisis. Television is also going through hard times. The Ostankino television company, where Kiselev, Dobrodeev and Malashenko work, is experiencing serious financial difficulties and is reducing its staff.
Having shown the initiative, Kiselyov asks businessman Vladimir Gusinsky to finance the television program “Itogi”, to which he receives a response proposal to create an independent television company, which will soon receive the name NTV.
New media begins to produce the information program “Today” and the analytical program “Itogi”. They are broadcast on the Fifth “St. Petersburg” TV channel, accessible to the European part of Russia.
Results" (October 1993) about the October events in Moscow
About this time they will later say that “ you could get to television from the street”, since many journalists and correspondents were hired by NTV without special education. In the period from 1993 to 1994, the main backbone of the television company was formed, the following people came there: Tatyana Mitkova, Alexey Pivovarov, Mikhail Osokin, Ernest Matskevichus, Alexander Khabarov, Vasily Utkin, Elena Masyuk, Nikolai Nikolaev, Pavel Lobkov, Leonid Parfenov and others.
On December 22, 1993, by decree of President Boris Yeltsin, NTV received evening time, from 18:00 to 00:00, on the frequency of Channel 4 (the rest of the time the state channel “Russian Universities” broadcasts).
The actions of the authorities seem incredible; before NTV, there were no television channels with information or analytical programs independent of the state; until recently, even the most harmless programs were subject to censorship on Soviet television. In the psychology of the old thinking, now power, " just anyone", trusts to tell the population about what is happening in the country and the world.
NTV immediately becomes one of the most prominent TV channels. In addition to news and analytics, the broadcast network now has room for new programs and Hollywood films that are inaccessible to a wide audience due to the high cost of VCRs. NTV is one of the first TV channels in new Russia to launch a program in the genre of political satire. The program “Dolls” is aired.
First episode of the “Dolls” program (NTV, 1994)
From 1994 to 1996, the first Chechen war took place in Russia. Chechnya is one of the North Caucasus republics, since 1991 it has wanted to secede from Russia and is actually independent. Since 1994, there has been a civil war, “ethnic cleansing of the non-Chechen population” and the first military operations with the participation of the Russian armed forces, which for the most part consist of untrained conscript soldiers.
NTV covers the war in more detail than others: correspondents go on air from the scene of hostilities, do not hush up the casualty figures, and talk about the facts of the atrocities of Chechen militants. Journalist Elena Masyuk manages to interview one of the leaders of the Chechen separatists, Shamil Basayev, which will become unattainable for other media outlets, the pinnacle of objectivity in covering the war.
Despite the extremely unprofitable coverage of the first Chechen military campaign for the authorities, NTV correspondents: Ilya Kanavin, Boris Koltsov, Arkady Mamontov, Maxim Ushanov, Alexander Khabarov and Viktor Shcherbakov will receive state medals of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree.
The role of the media in the socio-political life of Russia increased many times by the mid-nineties. Vladimir Gusinsky, who made a far-sighted investment, is now called not only an oligarch, but also a media tycoon. The television companies NTV and NTV+, the Ekho Moskvy radio station, the newspapers Segodnya and Sem Dni, and the Itogi magazine were under the control of his financial group Most.
Russian businessmen were able to “grow fat” thanks to President Boris Yeltsin, whose rating on the eve of the 1996 elections tends to zero; judging by the polls, Gennady Zyuganov, the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, comes out on top. Yeltsin, the hope of the Soviet people in the late 80s, approaches the mid-90s as a drunken, extravagant grandfather.
“Yeltsin slept through Ireland.” Scene from the documentary series “The other day. Our era"
In order to preserve their wealth, Russian oligarchs-media tycoons openly use all their resources to bring a person convenient for them to power, for example, NTV General Director Igor Malashenko joined Yeltsin’s election headquarters.
At the end of the campaign, the owner of ORT, Boris Berezovsky, and NTV, Vladimir Gusinsky, will demonstrate the wonders of cooperation by showing on Channel One, two days before the elections, the release of the TV game “Field of Miracles” with figures from the TV program “Dolls” (NTV). The Yeltsin doll will win the program by answering: “ I", to the question in the super game: " who will be the next president?».
“Field of Miracles” with “Dolls” NTV (ORT, 1996)
1994-1996 - artist from TypeMarket publishing house. Author of the original fonts
1996 - at the invitation of Yuri Grymov, participates in the design of the RTR channel
1997-1998 - chief designer of the TNT television network
1998-2001 - Leading designer at NTV-design
2001-2006 - art director of NTV, head of the NTV-design studio
since 2006 - Director of Strategic Marketing at CTC Media and CEO of Shandesign studio
The biggest illusion is that on television content is more important than design. Not only the future, but the present lies with the brand. But it’s like a commedia dell’arte: there must be masks. There must be Pierrot, there must be Harlequin, there must be Columbine, and so on. There must be their own condo-state channels expressing the condominium state point of view - “guardians”. There must be their antithesis - a progressivist channel opposing the condo-state guardians. I don’t even mention their names, it’s immediately clear what kind of channels they are. They simply must be: without a minus there will be no plus, without a shadow there will be no light. And there has to be a channel that exists between these two and performs all the other functions, that is, “well, I'm not that much of a guardian, but I can watch the show.”
TV design is always very expensive because it involves technology. Over the past year, viewer attention to news has increased by 36%; this was not the case a year ago; everyone did not watch the news with such frenzy, and it is clear why. At the same time, the antithesis of this is the rise in viewing of entertainment TV, because those who have seen enough of the news can no longer see it, they want to forget a little.
I would say that television design appeared in this country from NTV channel
Fragments of the design of the NTV channel in the mid-2000s
NTV channel screensavers from the early 2000s
My last story at NTV-Design was writing a new positioning for the NTV brand. First of all, I compared NTV with a man, Vladimir Vysotsky, who is simultaneously loved by the intelligentsia, miners, military men, prisoners, and everyone. He is a poet, a rowdy, an alcoholic, and a drug addict. A variety of women love him, he is reckless, he is open, honest and at the same time absolutely Russian. The absolute genotype of a Russian man, a Russian person. This is how I wanted to see NTV, this is how I created new branding for NTV, and even for some time it was like this. To accommodate this positioning, the channel grid changed, the content changed, new programs, new everything. But, probably, my vision was different from what the channel’s management wanted then. They, of course, experienced an incredible takeoff, but completely burned out the clearing. It’s one thing when we joke about the bandits from “The meeting place cannot be changed,” and another thing when it turns into the bandits making a little joke about Vysotsky. It all depends on the proportion, because the channels are no different from each other, they all do the same thing.
We must understand that everything that happens in our market is not unique. This is something that already exists somewhere, which has been developed, sold and is working. When we were repositioning NTV, we looked at the American FOX. This is the basic principle of production: find a successful story and do the same. This principle works in cinema, the same principle works in television.
Time is very important on television. You need at least four years: despite all the squeals, screams, demands for a ban, you need to stand for four years, and you will be remembered, understood and accepted. An amazing thing - you will show your knee every day, and after some time your knee will become a superstar. That's how it works. That's why they call him the zombie box, etc.
An amazing thing - you will show your knee on TV every day, and after some time the knee will become a superstar
In terms of style, I highlight TNT, Channel One, Dozhd, Moscow 24 and Vesti 24. Everything that the British do is very cool, the Lambie-Nairn company is a style icon.
I returned to TV actually at Gusinsky’s invitation, in order to create the newly created TNT network. Then I made two types of logos: one was futuristic, and the second was in the style of NTV Design, it was made together with Boris Miroshin, he inserted two letters century instead of a grotesque, and it turned out to be such a big-eared Cheburashka. The channel directors chose avant-garde, and Gusinsky chose Cheburashka. And for some time the TNT channel was with this Cheburashka. But with the arrival of Roman Petrenko on the channel, they chose that first logo, which is still alive. You need to understand that at that time the channel’s share was “-1”, that is, it seemed to not exist, despite the fact that TNT was the first channel on domestic TV that began showing series (it was by order of Korchagin and Solovyov that the first series was made “ Streets of Broken Lanterns" and was first shown on the TNT channel - few people know this).
Previously, RG, Vladimir Kulistikov, who headed NTV since 2004, left his post and becomes an adviser to the general director of VGTRK, and Alexey Zemsky was appointed to the place of the general director of the channel by the Board of Directors of the Gazprom-Media holding.
The new top manager has experience working at NTV - he worked on the “fourth button” from 2003 to 2004, when the channel was headed by Nikolai Senkevich. At that time, Alexey Zemsky held the position of first deputy general director at NTV.
The RG columnist called Alexei Zemsky and, congratulating him on his appointment, asked him to answer a few questions.
Does your arrival on the channel mean that its policies and team will change? Are you reformatting NTV?
Alexey Zemsky: Before answering this question, I would like to say the following: coming to the place occupied by Vladimir Mikhailovich Kulistikov is very honorable and very difficult. Because, in addition to the high-profile victories and serious projects that he had over 12 years of work, he leaves a company that has no debt, that owns real estate, and that is building one of the most modern television centers in Europe. And in general, Kulistikov is a legend who enjoys one of the greatest authorities in our industry.
As for reformatting the channel, it’s no secret that NTV’s ratings have fallen recently. And, probably, one of my main tasks is to figure out why this happened. Understand what the preferences of the audience are, why they left, and only after that think about any changes.
Your experience is associated with the production part of your work on TV - at VGTRK you held the position of first deputy general director for production and technical issues. What will it be like on NTV in terms of creativity and content?
Alexey Zemsky: I will remember my first education (Zemsky studied to be an actor and director - RG note), but at the same time I will say that everything is decided by people and correctly set tasks. And in order to set tasks correctly, you need to clearly understand all the problems. This is what I want to do first.
Meanwhile
Vladimir Kulistikov, in turn, is changing his place of work - in the near future he will take up the duties of an adviser to the general director Oleg Dobrodeev at the VGTRK holding. The press service of VGTRK confirmed this information to the RG observer, emphasizing that Vladimir Kulistikov is “one of the brilliant journalists. And in this capacity, he will be able to deal with the topics that will be interesting to him as a journalist.”
“I am glad that Alexey Zemsky has joined the Gazprom-Media team. He has more than 20 years of experience in television, participation in the organization and production of large-scale television events. I am confident that Alexey’s professional competence and expertise in the field of television production will contribute to the successful development of NTV as one of the leading information television channels in the country,” commented Dmitry Chernyshenko, General Director of Gazprom Media Holding JSC, on the appointment.
Direct speech
Colleagues about Vladimir Kulistikov:
Tatyana Mitkova, editor-in-chief of NTV News Service:
Eleven years next to a smart, super-erudite, educated person, also endowed with an incredible sense of humor. His comments and assessments are always strikingly accurate and well-reasoned. I have long been measuring the level of a particular report or film based on Kulistikov: what would he say? This is a habit I will keep.
Vladimir Kondratyev, NTV columnist:
I believe that Vladimir Kulistikov is the best boss I have seen in my journalistic life. I remember his brilliant reports when he worked as a senior correspondent for Radio Liberty and in the Arab media, his wonderful interviews in the “Hero of the Day” program already while working at NTV and, naturally, the years when Vladimir Mikhailovich headed our television company. A journalist and historian by training, a candidate of science, an unusually erudite person who has seen a lot, perfectly found a common language with correspondents and helped them look for the exact words in their reports, without imposing his opinion at all. Kulistikov is a very witty person and with him the atmosphere in the team was very human and relaxed. I would like to hope that those who replaced him will maintain the same healthy climate in our team. And I would like to wish Vladimir Mikhailovich good health and many years in the world of journalism.
Help "RG"
Alexey Zemsky was born on October 11, 1967 in Moscow. In 1990 he graduated from the acting department of the State Institute of Theater Arts (GITIS). From 1993 to 1996 Studied at the directing department of the All-Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK), specializing in television and feature film director.
He has been working on television since 1991. From 1991 to 2003, he was co-founder and general producer of Figaro Studio, an independent producer of television products for Russian television channels. During this time, he produced such successful television projects as the New Wave festival in Jurmala, New Year's Eve on the First and Golden Gramophone for Channel One, the talk show Koma for the NTV channel, and Hurry to Do Good for the channel TV Center, television films "Outpost", "Chinese Box", "Secret Guard".
From 2003 to 2004, he served as deputy general director of the NTV channel, where he oversaw the channel's non-information projects.
From 2008 to 2015, he was Deputy General Director of VGTRK and headed the production and technology department of the holding. During this period, he took part in the organization and production of large-scale television events, including the Military Parade on Red Square dedicated to Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War, the “direct line” of the President of the Russian Federation and the press conference of the President of the Russian Federation.
Alexey Zemsky is a member of the International Academy of Television and Radio.
Kulistikov Vladimir Mikhailovich is a famous journalist and media manager. His life is a progressive path to the top; he has gone through all the steps of the career ladder, reaching the top level.
Childhood and youth
On May 20, 1952, a son, Vladimir Kulistikov, appeared in a family of Soviet specialists working in Germany at a joint venture for uranium mining. The boy’s biography in his childhood was not much different from many Soviet children. He studied well at school and was able to enter the most prestigious university in the country.
Best start
In 1969, Kulistikov entered MGIMO to study at the Faculty of International Journalism. The future media manager always had a thirst for knowledge and read a lot; he also showed a high ability to study foreign languages. He speaks five languages fluently: English, French, German, Serbo-Croatian and Arabic. Having received the best education, Kulistikov gets the opportunity to realize his potential in a variety of fields.
After graduating from MGIMO in 1975, Vladimir Kulistikov did not go to work directly in his specialty - journalism, but began to work at the Ministry of Foreign Trade. This was a great start to a career for a young specialist. After working for three years in the ministry, Vladimir decides to change his field of activity, he is attracted by science, and he goes to the Institute of Scientific Information of the USSR Academy of Sciences as a research assistant. For seven years he has been studying European law, defending his PhD thesis on legal means of resolving international conflicts, and is confidently climbing the career ladder.
However, in 1985, he decides to return to journalism and comes to the magazine “New Time” as a columnist. The publication covered events in the world, distinguished by the relative freedom of the authors to express their opinions. Kulistikov came to “New Time”, when, in the wake of perestroika, journalism was becoming a very interesting activity. He worked for the publication for 5 years and went from correspondent to deputy editor-in-chief. These were the years of enormous popularity of the magazine, so Vladimir Mikhailovich gained invaluable experience working in a large media outlet; he developed not only his skills as a reporter, but also management techniques.
In 1990, Kulistikov worked in his immediate specialty - he became his own correspondent in Moscow for the Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat (Life). Times were difficult, especially from an economic point of view, and the journalist decides to test himself in business. He becomes an advertising advisor to the president of the Russian House commercial company, during these years the company's turnover reaches $200 million a year. Despite his successes in real business, Kulistikov does not part with journalism, but is looking for new platforms for self-realization.
Life on the radio
In 1993, Savik Shuster, editor-in-chief of the Moscow Bureau, brings Vladimir to the Radio Liberty station. For three years, Kulistikov has been working on radio, mastering a new field for himself. He starts as a correspondent, then becomes a commentator, and in 1993 he creates his own weekly program, Liberty Life, which covered the events of the day live. Here the journalist’s talent is fully demonstrated: he knows how to present news vividly, gives accurate and witty comments on events. He also demonstrates the ability to manage a creative team and good managerial qualities. He quickly outgrows the scale of the program, it is no longer enough for him to be the head of the program, Kulistikov again goes in search of something new.
Television is a matter of life
In 1996, Vladimir Kulistikov came to NTV as deputy editor-in-chief of the information service. Here he begins to work under the leadership with whom the journalist developed friendly relations; subsequently they will collaborate repeatedly on different channels. Vladimir Mikhailovich also hosts his own program “Hero of the Day”, which is an interview with some interesting person. Many political and public figures, representatives of culture and art visited Kulistikov’s studio. During his year of work in the program, the journalist showed himself to be a person of boundless erudition, with subtle humor and a sharp tongue.
At NTV, Vladimir Mikhailovich found the best place to grow and realize his career and creative plans. In 1997, he became editor-in-chief of the information service and began to implement his many ideas, without forgetting the main task that the founders assigned to him - increasing ratings and attracting advertisers. Here Kulistikov’s experience in business came in handy; he applied management techniques to the media environment and achieved good results. In 2000, he became NTV, continuing to head the information service.
In the fall of 2000, Kulistikov left NTV for the first time to become chairman of the board of the Russian news agency Vesti. This short absence from the life of a television journalist showed him how much he loved this field and how successful he was in it. When there was a change of leadership at NTV in 2001, Kulistikov returned to NTV as the editor-in-chief of the television company, and also as a member of the board of directors.
In 2002, the journalist’s contract with NTV expired, and he changed his place of work, going to VGTRK as a deputy to Oleg Dobrodeev, the chairman of VGTRK. In two years, Kulistikov goes through all the stages of his career in the television company and becomes the first deputy general director of VGTRK and director of information programs; for him, news is still the most important thing.
Best project - NTV
From 2002 to 2004, scandals constantly developed between the team, company management and investors on NTV. The television company needs a person who could bring everything back to normal. Also, all parties agree that what is needed is not a new manager, but a person familiar with the problems and concept of NTV and well versed in news, and Vladimir Kulistikov becomes the best solution for the television company. NTV became for him a place for the implementation of plans and significant achievements. From 2004 to 2015, Kulistikov worked as the general director of the television company, and during this time he was able to again lead it to a leadership position. In these years, NTV has been releasing many new programs that have high ratings: “Maximum Program”, “Profession - Reporter”. Vladimir Mikhailovich does not hide the fact that he was faced with the task of extracting maximum profit from the channel, and he successfully solved it. The changes led to the closure of some programs: “School of Scandal,” “Today at Midnight,” “Real Politics,” “Sunday Evening.” The general director was accused of removing information programs from the network, replacing them with entertainment ones. But at this time Kulistikov received government awards: Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd and 3rd degree,
Kulistikov Vladimir Mikhailovich - a born manager
Managing people in a large creative team is not easy. Vladimir Mikhailovich Kulistikov reached significant heights in this art. The nationality and sexual orientation of the employees did not interest him as a manager; he says that he always chose employees based on their professional qualities, everything else did not matter. NTV colleagues speak very warmly of their former leader. Vladimir Takmenev notes that the television company has acquired a new face; high-rated programs have appeared on its schedule: “Country and World”, “Central Television”, “New Russian Sensations”. says that she and her colleagues were lucky that they were taught to work and think by such a professional as Vladimir Kulistikov. Vadim Glusker notes that their leader is distinguished by his encyclopedic knowledge and impeccable leadership talent.
Unexpected turn: resignation
In October 2015, everyone was struck by sudden news - Vladimir Kulistikov was leaving NTV. He said that he was leaving the company for health reasons, and that there was no reason behind this event. But at this time there were many difficulties on the channel: several journalists left the channel, disagreements with investors appeared, growing pressure from the authorities, an economic crisis, so it became increasingly difficult for Kulistikov to implement his plans. And he decides to leave NTV. And within a few days he becomes an adviser to the general director at VGTRK Oleg Dobrodeev. History repeats itself, perhaps to be continued.
Family and Children
Many journalists hide the details of their private lives, and Vladimir Kulistikov does the same. The son of a journalist, Dmitry, as you know, followed in his father’s footsteps; today he works as a correspondent for VGTRK Rossiya. No details are known about his wife, Margarita Viktorovna Kulistikova.
