About the elections on “Echo”

The election of the editor-in-chief by the work collective of our Echo aroused some unexpected interest for me. Monday passed in an atmosphere of fantastic excitement. Before the elections, I received text messages saying that we are with you, hold on, don’t let us down. After the elections, I received text messages saying, we are with you, congratulations, well done, keep it up. Live broadcast, cameras recording, photographing! In the top of Yandex, the news about Venediktov’s re-election is in second place! And this is in a country that is actually on the brink of war!

The reaction to the election result, however, ranged from “a demonstration of team cohesion in difficult times” to caustic grins about our liberality and democracy, manifested in 90 percent voting for an uncontested candidate - no worse than in Chechnya or North Korea. Well, yes, we also joked among ourselves about “the candidate from the indestructible bloc of communists and non-party people.”

There are two ways to respond to such ridicule. Firstly, according to the principle “you are a fool.” That is, ask a counter question: what are the percentages and lists of candidates in other editorial offices? Oh, they don't hold elections there at all? Well, what is your question and where does your irony come from?

But according to the “I’m a fool” principle, I still won’t answer. I'll just explain the difference between the two types of elections. For example, at least how do the elections of the country's president differ from the elections of the editor-in-chief.

What unites us Russians? We are united by a coincidentally coincident place of birth. Plus, a certain percentage of those born in the former Union who have Russian citizenship live in Russia. Well, Viktor Ahn with Vic Wilde and Depardieu. Place of birth and residence is the main coincidence. Otherwise we are different. Different ages, financial and social status, interests, education, professions, etc. and so on. Therefore, when we are all so different going to elections, we cannot vote 100% or overwhelmingly for one candidate or one party. This simply cannot be. Because we are different.

And it was no coincidence that we, Ekhovites, ended up at the radio station. This is the difference. We knew where we were going, by what principles the station operates and what standards it adheres to. If we don’t like them, then why come to work here? Logical? We are also all different, but we have a common agreement with certain general principles.

Of course, in creative teams, in editorial offices, there are also riots and uprisings against management. But this happens just when something changes. It was like this, but it became somehow different - and sensitive creative people are organizing a “Maidan”. On Ekho, everything, in principle, has remained unchanged, not only since the beginning of Venediktov’s editorship, but even since the leadership of Sergei Lvovich Korzun. So why be surprised that 90% vote for Venediktov and people do not nominate other candidates?

If we don’t like the government’s policies, we vote against them or don’t go to the polls—or emigrate altogether. If we don't like the editorial policy, we simply change our place of work. By the way, people leave Echo regularly. Some people are not satisfied with the opportunities for self-realization. Some people don’t like the obvious socio-political bias. Some people think Echo is not radical enough. Some people are not satisfied with the salary. Salaries at Echo are excellent... by the standards of 15 years ago. The “notorious” doctors and teachers receive, I’ll tell you, more than most of our workers. Therefore, we especially love to listen to stories about golden rain pouring on us from the depths of Gazprom (as well as the State Department). The logistics are antique. In general, this is not Rio de Janeiro.

Some also leave due to personal disagreements with the editor-in-chief. Venediktov is, to put it mildly, not a simple person. And the boss, to put it bluntly, is demanding. Alexey Alekseich does not take prisoners and does not show yellow cards. If he has questions for you, then, as they say, “thank you for being alive.”

But if we continue to work on Echo, then the advantages of such work outweigh all the difficulties. And the advantages are simple. Firstly, working on “Echo” is, for some reason, a rare opportunity in our time for a journalist to do journalism. Not with propaganda, not with gossip from the lives of celebrities, but directly to work in the profession. And, secondly, yes, we really have that same UJK, a unique journalistic team. And working with these people is a great pleasure. Both professional and human. In the end, if you listen to “Echo” (and you definitely listen to it!), then you yourself understand everything about our advantages and merits.

But I will return to the elections. What is the point of them at all if their result is clear and there is no intrigue? And this, if you like, is a method of self-defense. According to the charter, we elect the editor-in-chief. And if the board of directors does not agree with us, then we re-elect it. And so on ad infinitum. Of course, we are not children. And we understand that if the authorities are ready to send an army into a neighboring country, then they will not be afraid to liquidate the annoying radio station. But first, they will still have to tinker with us - as in “White Sun of the Desert,” where Comrade Sukhov also first preferred to “suffer.”

And, going back to Monday's vote, it was, of course, nice to receive text messages with kind words and it was unexpected to meet such incredible interest in our elections, but all the best or worst that can happen to us will come later. And it would be nice if on the day of the meeting of the board of directors on the approval of our chosen Alekseich there were also live broadcasts, cameras, spotlights and camera flashes.



Photos by ITAR-TASS