Activity of Commission for provincial and regional sheets edition rules revision (1901)

In the beginning of the 20th century provincial and regional Sheets as a forming systemof the regional governmental periodical press attracted the attention of the central authorities. The Commission for provincial sheets editionrules revision was created in 1901 at the Central Administrative Board on the Press. The basic purpose of the Commission was updating ofprograms of sheets according to the new political conditions, their reduction to uniformity and establishment of information interaction bothbetween the Sheets, and with The Governmental Bulletin. Programs of 73 provincial and regional Sheets were tabulated and showed a perfectvariety in content, subscription price and periodicity. These newspapers initially created as a system of regional governmental editions,in the local conditions; and separate assumptions in the program and petitions of governors gradually departed from the ordered restrictions,developed and changed. A paradoxical situation happenedt - those Sheets which broke the program confirmed by the law, strengthened theinformal part, filling it with forbidden headings (theatrical criticism, local chronicles, correspondence, feuilletons, etc.). Those Sheets deservedattention and approval by the Central Administrative Board on the Press, and Sheets following the legislative line were among outsiders.To understand the situation in April 9-19, 1901, the capital hosted a congress of editors of provincial governmental newspapers. Theresults of its work were generalized in a new edition of the newspaper's program. However, any changes in existing statutes about the programof provincial Sheets were not been made. The reasons of such a situation were in the general conservative course of the Nicholas'sgovernment, fear of any changes in the press position. Reform of the local governmental periodical press demanded financial investmentsfrom the authorities, and influenced on the developed financial relations between provincial Sheets and provincial boards, changed the existingschedule of states and salaries. There was a problem of selection of capable and ideologically reliable staff. Besides, hopes to influencethe provincial private press in the interests of the government remained. The authorities could get an opponent and not the ally in the updatedofficial bodies with the right to discuss governmental actions. As a result, the Commission activity had only information value andserved for learning the position and needs of the local state editions.

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