First issue of National Geographic Ukraine is titled Reviving Extinct Species

First Ukrainian issue of the popular science magazine National Geographic was released on March 25. Since the publication of its first issue in 1888 by the US National Geographic Society it gained worldwide popularity. Now the magazine is published in 40 languages, including Ukrainian. Ukrainian edition of the magazine is not only a big achievement (Sanoma Media Ukraine negotiated the launch of the Ukrainian version of National Geographic for several years; first the launch was planned for December 2008, then it was rescheduled to March-April of 2009, but then it was postponed indefinitely until the economic crisis would end) but it is also a kind of a test for “maturity” of the magazine audience. This magazine does not cover politics, scandals, or glamour fashion. However, the popularity of National Geographic Facebook page suggests that Ukrainians are eager to have access to popular science content in a format of a magazine. What special materials will feature the first-issue of National Geographic Ukraine? What is needed for creation of a full-fledged Ukrainian website of the magazine and TV channel? What will make this magazine special among other thematic competitors? The Day spoke about these and other issues with Dmytro HUBENKO, Deputy Editor of National Geographic Ukraine.

The magazine will be published in Ukrainian. Aren’t you afraid that this might affect the audience of the magazine since Russian glossy magazines prevail in Ukrainian market?

“We wouldn’t want to take over this whole thing if we would’ve had some doubts. We believe that this high quality magazine will find its audience in Ukraine. We are also convinced that it will be read by both Ukrainian-speaking and Russian-speaking people. We will be offering interesting materials of traditionally high quality, prepared by the American editorial office and will try to provide materials about Ukraine that would meet the same high standards. National Geographic Magazine is not only a brand, it is also a legend. This year the US National Geographic Society will celebrate its 125th anniversary and without any doubt its official magazine will be interesting for the wide Ukrainian audience.”

Who are the potential readers of the National Geographic Ukraine?

“Magazine covers a wide range of topics, it hasn’t been purely geographic for a long time already. National Geographic writes also about history, zoology, botany, cultural studies, ethnography, and space. That is why its audience is very wide. These are mainly people of ‘active’ age – 25 to 45 years old, who are interested in the facts about the world, tired of politics, glamour, and other relatively superficial matters that filled most of the mass media in Ukraine. Accordingly, these people want to learn something new, they want to see the remote places of the planet, described exclusively by National Geographic. The special feature of National Geographic is its photo journalism. The magazine is, in fact, the veteran of world’s photo journalism and it is hard to see photographs of such high quality in other publications. Therefore, people interested in photography also become a part of the magazine’s audience. However, we do not want to limit ourselves to some defined audience. We believe that our magazine will be interesting to teenagers, school students (at least those who study in high school), even though it is a quite serious publication. We hope that elderly people will also enjoy reading National Geographic.”

Niche of such type of publications in Ukraine is not yet filled, in fact, there are very few magazines of the same kind as National Geographic. There is magazine called Vokrug Sveta (Around the World) on Ukrainian market. And there also was another magazine called Ekzo but it is no longer published. What will make your magazine different from competing publications?

“Vokrug Sveta has its Ukrainian version but the materials published there are mainly in Russian. In fact, at first, the materials from the American version of National Geographic will prevail in our magazine, but with time we plan to increase the number of articles by Ukrainian authors and content about Ukraine up to 25-30 percent. Secondly, the very format of the magazines is slightly different. National Geographic provides deeper scientific basis since the National Geographic Society is not simply a media holding. It is primarily a research and educational institution. Thousands of scientists have already received grants from the National Geographic on a variety of research in various fields. National Geographic Society even issued 11 grants for Ukrainian researchers.”

Were those grants issued directly on projects of Ukrainian researchers?

“Both Ukrainian and foreign researchers, who conducted their field research in Ukraine. That’s why the magazine is only the tip of the iceberg of the vast array of scientific information, which is collected and studied by the researchers of the Society.”

Will National Geographic Ukraine be issued only in printed version or do you plan to conquer digital platforms as well?

“We have a Facebook page and its popularity is constantly growing and for now we do not plan to go onto other social networks. Of course, we understand that media are now developing in the digital age and everyone transfers their activity into digital format. However, table PCs are not yet as popular in Ukraine as they are in the United States and European countries. That is why we do not risk to start digital version yet. The magazine will be published only in printed version at least for the first year. Then we will see how the project will develop and how the market will change. Of course, we can assume that eventually we will have the version for tablet PCs and our own website. But these are only the plans for the future and we can’t promise anything yet.”

And yet, what is needed to run the full fledged Ukrainian website of National Geographic?

“This would require a license from the National Geographic Society. Which means it can happen only in a year or year and a half, no sooner than that. We have to see that there are people who want to read the magazine and pay money for it. After that we would be able to move on to other platforms.”

What will be the approximate price of the magazine?

“The price is already known – it will be 25 hryvnias. The price for subscription will be 20 percent less, which means that the editorial subscription will cost 240 hryvnias per year. In my opinion, this is quite democratic price.”

Will there be any special materials in the first issue of National Geographic Ukraine?

“The topic of the first issue of the magazine will be the reviving of extinct species. It is a rather interesting issue and many scientists worldwide research it. The subject is quite complicated and is associated primarily with cloning, which is a rather controversial issue in itself, not acceptable for some people from ethical point of view. We will also feature materials about illegal logging of mahogany tree in South America, a very interesting article about manatees from Florida – marine mammals that in winter swim in canals and spend the cold season practically near the houses of people that live there. There will also be many news reports and interesting notes, both those prepared by Ukrainian journalists and those from the American version of the magazine.”