Iryna Khalip: Piotr Martsau had talent of choosing best journalists

• 15.09.2014, 9:16

The funeral of Piotr Martseu takes place today.

Journalist Iryna Khalip, the person who was working with Martsau for many years and whom he chose to be the editor-in-chief of the Imia newspaper in the late 1990s, shared her memories of him in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belarusi.

“Petia was a unique person for his time,” she says. “If he had been born in America, France or Australia instead of the Soviet Union, he would have become a billionaire or at least a multimillionaire by the age of 30. We, the journalists who graduated from the Soviet faculty of journalism, were taught to cover assemblies of the [Communist] party instead of being taught management. Martsau with his philological education understood how to run a newspaper and make it bring profit. He founded the Imia newspaper on the money earned by the BDG newspaper.

It's a pity that the things that promised to grow into a media empire began to break up. It wasn't the fault of Martsau or journalists. It was the fault of those controlling the media processes. Martsau had a talent of choosing the best journalists. All who worked for BDG became successful. The first heads of BDG, who quit and founded their own project, Belgazeta, were also a merit of Martsau. He made them who they are. I can say that the Imia newspaper, where I had worked since the beginning till the end, is, perhaps, the best time in my life.”

Visitation will take place at the Minsk funeral home in Alseheuski Street from 12:00 to 15:00.

The famous publisher and journalist died on the evening of September 13.