Tomorrow marks the completion of the 7th year since the launch of the "Yeni Sabah" news website. The website was established on January 25, 2019.
Although Yenisabah.az began its operations at a time when hundreds of news portals existed in the country and intense competition was ongoing among internet media resources, it managed to gain recognition within a short period.
The website publishes news, interviews, investigations, and statements that will interest all social strata of society.
On this occasion, the founder of the website, Elnur Məmmədli, gave an interview to Modern.az.
We present that interview:
- Mr. Elnur, how important is time in the recognition of a news website and in gathering a wide readership?
- Continuity is more important than time. That is, it is necessary to work at a high pace and maintain this continuity. Naturally, time also plays a certain role. However, if a news website operates poorly, fails to influence public opinion, and does not publish exclusive news, the time factor loses its significant importance. To gain recognition and rank high in ratings, several crucial factors must be present: finance, professionalism, and proper management. The team must be correctly selected, and good financial provision is required for all of this. There are websites in Azerbaijan with very large budgets. Some websites have a monthly budget equal to our semi-annual budget. However, when we look, we see that they have gathered their relatives and close ones around them. As a result, both the management level and the approach to news are very low. Such news websites are almost invisible in the rating environment and in the field of exclusive news.
- The number of news websites established and recognized in the last 7 years is not that high…
- One of the most competitive fields in Azerbaijan is media. When we started our operations, we did not enter a vacant space. Finding a place here was extremely difficult. The budget for the first month of "Yenisabah.az" did not even reach 2000 manats. We started with three people. I had worked in this field for a long time, I believed in myself, and I had sufficient experience. I wanted to test myself. Why not?! The main problem for websites that emerged during this period but failed to achieve success is their excessive reliance on hype. A website is created, there is a lot of hype, but because there is no continuity, no results are achieved.
- How did the desire to create "Yeni Sabah" arise? Was it a desire or a necessity?
- There was no compulsion whatsoever. In fact, taking on a heavy burden, responsibility, and sleepless nights is what it means to be the head of a news portal. I have been in media for 26 years now. I have always changed my workplace approximately every five years. I love change, novelty. And at the same time, going where there is no path.
- Is not working in one place for more than five years good or bad for a journalist?
- In my opinion, it is good. Even changing the arrangement of objects in an ordinary office gives a person new motivation. The same effect occurs when changing workplaces. People start to think differently.
- Do you change your employees frequently, or do they change you?
- I have rarely taken this initiative. Because when hiring an employee, I researched them: I read their previous writings, contacted their former managers. I was interested in them both as a journalist and as a person. Therefore, I have not made frequent changes. It is true that journalists now change their workplaces frequently themselves. The main problem here is financial matters. Many of our employees who left did so purely because they received better offers elsewhere. I view this as very normal.
- Do young people constitute the majority among your employees?
- No. We have managed to maintain an average age balance.
- Sometimes we see news websites hesitant to hire inexperienced graduates who have just finished university. What is your attitude towards this issue?
- I am interested in this. Because it is necessary to create opportunities for people to discover themselves. So far, whoever has applied to us, I have created every opportunity I could for them. They have come and tested themselves. Some have found themselves in this field, and some have not.
- What is the main editorial line of "Yenisabah.az"? For example, sometimes we see both entertainment and official news side-by-side on the front page.
- We do not have a specific principle regarding the issue you mentioned. Many friends tell me that having entertainment and official news side-by-side on the front page does not look good. But I do not think so. If the news is interesting, we publish it. As for a specific editorial line, frankly, I have no opinion on it. Perhaps some difference is observed from the outside. But I do not see it. We are engaged in news reporting. Whatever serves the news, we publish it on the website. "Yeni Sabah" does not only resemble me; it resembles everyone working in our editorial office. I find this interesting. However, there are websites in Azerbaijan where you can see the leader as soon as you look at them. It is as if the portrait of the website's leader is drawn on the homepage. With us, reporters can easily change the image and title of an article, and they can criticize the title set or photo chosen by the editor.
- Your choice of name is also interesting. We see this type of name more often in Turkish media.
- Most of the interesting names in Azerbaijani media have already been used for websites. (Laughs) It was difficult for us too. Frankly, I wanted the "sabah.az" domain, but at that time, this domain had been acquired by others. It operated for a while, but currently, I think it is not working. For this reason, I added "yeni" (new) before the word "sabah" (morning/tomorrow). I wanted it to be a novelty both for me and for the news. In general, name selection can be considered somewhat important for a news portal. However, if the activity does not justify that name, it loses all significance.
- If you compare the first day with today, which principles changed, and which remained unchanged?
- In the early years, we also came with a bit of hype, publishing all news indiscriminately. Now, however, we place news more selectively. Overall, there are no significant changes. Not much time has passed. I created this website with 20 years of experience. After so much experience, one does not frequently change their principles. But if we were to compare the day I first entered the press with today, there are considerable changes not only in my principles but also in my character.
- Do you encounter pressure, unofficial requests, or "favors" due to the news you publish? How does the editorial office behave in such cases?
- We have encountered them frequently. Whether I take them into account or not depends on the style of the request. I look at the tone and content of what the person making the request says. There are people who do not want information about them to be disseminated. The reason for this is related to social networks. Just as social networks have positive aspects, they also have many negative ones. Everyone knows that officials are not open to the press. In rare cases, they give interviews or statements, and you publish them on the website. In parallel, that official is lynched on social media. When this happens several times, the official imposes a ban on themselves. It is possible that a person might say something you dislike during an interview. But we are very prejudiced. There are also threats, pressure, and court threats to remove news. We also have court experience.
- Should an official be afraid of being criticized in the media?
- A normal person should not be afraid. No one is afraid of normal criticism. In social media, however, there is more noise than criticism. One must be very tolerant of this, and it is difficult. Officials can be blamed, or not blamed.
- How do you use social media accounts?
- Social networks are very important, essential. It is not possible without them. We also try to benefit from them to the maximum extent. However, I am not a proponent of over-exaggerating social media. Access to our website from social media is below 30 percent. Mostly, there are direct accesses. Today, artificial intelligence is more significant than social media, and it supports the development of journalism. Naturally, correct use of artificial intelligence can lead to less time, less effort, and more productivity.
- Do you use artificial intelligence?
- We might use it in the future. But this also requires financial resources. The situation of media in Azerbaijan is well-known. Today, the advertising market demands racketeering and blackmail from the media. Companies and institutions have left no other path for the media. However, we are unable to do this and do not deem it appropriate for ourselves. Whom and how should we blackmail? I have not had such an experience, and I will not.
- Have you been able to attract advertising without resorting to blackmail?
- Yes.
- Can advertising revenues cover your expenses?
- It covers one-third of the expenses.
- Whom do you consider rivals, and whom do you consider role models?
- We can consider everyone who publishes news as our rival. Sometimes you see a website whose name you do not even know publishing news, and you cite it and publish that news on your own website. For this reason, I believe that all news-publishing websites, all bloggers, all profiles should be considered rivals. An official agency is a rival for me, as is someone who takes a picture from the street and shares it on their profile.
- What about role models? Surely not all can be considered role models.
- No one has reached that level yet. I wish they would.
- Who is your favorite employee?
- All of them. I cannot differentiate between them.
- What are your thoughts regarding the future? Are you considering new projects, new endeavors?
- There is a saying: if a soldier does not want to be a general, he is not a soldier. I want to be a general. I want our website to be at the top, to see everyone from above. Currently, we are in the center. Perhaps being at the very top has a different pleasure. We have everything to achieve this, but we lack the most crucial factor: finance. Many things are built upon finance. I return to this topic once again; today, the main issue is the advertising market, which is not distributed according to clear principles. In our advertising sector, not only is there no justice, but illogicality prevails. In a market managed without rules, you either have to adapt to these rules or, like us, stagnate financially. We generally do not have employees writing from many fields. One of our reporters does the work of three reporters working at other websites.
- In general, how do you envision the Azerbaijani media environment, and do you believe you exist within it?
- "Yeni Sabah" exists in the Azerbaijani media. Media plays a certain role as a tool in both governance and guiding public processes. We have also seen the role media has played in the high-profile issues that have occurred in the country to date. The course of events demands this. "Yeni Sabah" has always been at the center. It has ratings, leadership in processes, and influence.
- Once, newspapers were the main source of information for the press. Then radio and television, followed by news websites, and now social media is widespread. There is no doubt that alternatives to social media will also emerge in the future. In this case, is the era of websites falling behind?
- No, it is not. Because today, 70-80 percent of the topics presented and discussed on social networks are news written by websites. A new generation of journalists is not growing among us; we are in a sterile situation. How many of them prove themselves? This is precisely one of the negative aspects of social media. The reporter no longer leaves the newsroom, does not see the event with their own eyes, and prepares news based only on dry text, videos, and images seen on social networks. The journalist does not experience the event.
- Are you open to novelty?
- If we are not open, we should find ourselves another job.
- What have you achieved in 7 years? What have these years brought you?
- It seems to me that if you ask anyone who reads media in Azerbaijan to name 10 news websites, our name will be there in 8 out of 10 cases. We have been able to make our voice heard to a certain extent. This is not ego.
