Ukrainian-language Scientific American in need of revenue (10/18/98)

Ukrainian-language Scientific American in need of revenue

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - A young Ukrainian entrepreneur has begun publishing a Ukrainian edition of the well-respected U.S. magazine Scientific American, in the Ukrainian language. However, it may be a short run for the local publisher if he doesn't find more sources of revenue.

Dr. Oleksander Zavadka, 38, of Lviv signed a five-year contract with Scientific American, and in May began publishing a Ukrainian version of the mass circulation scientific magazine, whose Ukrainian title is Svit Nauky (World of Science).

His publishing house, Nautilus, has exclusive rights in Ukraine to the contents of the U.S. version of the magazine, as well as approval to publish original articles in Ukraine under the Scientific American name.

The June issue of Svit Nauky featured a story on the construction of a seaworthy replica of a Kozak chaika, a warship used by the 16th-18th century Ukrainian warriors on Ukraine's rivers and seas in confrontations with the Tatars and Turks. The vessel will travel to Spain in 1999 for the 500th anniversary of America's discovery.

The July edition had a feature on the world-renowned Ukrainian geo-chemist Volodymyr Vernadsky, who worked with Marie Curie in the study of radioactive elements. The August issue profiled Ukrainian cosmonaut Leonid Kadenyuk, who last year flew aboard the U.S. space shuttle.

The idea of printing a well-known popular scientific magazine hit Dr. Zavadka in early 1997. "The only thing I ever read about science and Ukraine dealt with Chornobyl," said Dr. Zavadka, who has a medical degree from Lviv State University.

He contacted Scientific American in New York and over a one-year period had ongoing negotiations during which he had to overcome executives' fears and uncertainties regarding publishing in Ukrainian. "I had to convince them that indeed there is a readership for a Ukrainian-language magazine," said Dr. Zavadka. He said that he also had to show them that Ukraine had a sufficient market of educated readers.

Dr. Zavadka began the Ukrainian version of Scientific American with his own start-up costs of $38,000 and has thus far published five monthly issues. Today he has a staff of 15 and a print run of 10,000.

But, as with many publishing projects in Ukraine, Dr. Zavadka has hit a roadblock: lack of revenue. Circulation has not taken off chiefly because, in an economy that has languished in depression since almost the beginning of independence in 1991, few people can afford to subscribe to a daily newspaper, much less a specialty magazine.

Dr. Zavadka also is caught in a Catch-22 with advertising agencies who have shown interest in Svit Nauky, but are waiting to see how circulation develops before signing on to work with the new magazine. Dr. Zavadka's problem is that, without ad revenues, he cannot properly promote the magazine to boost circulation. And until circulation expands, advertisers are wary of coming aboard.

Scientific American has expressed a desire to take at least a 50 percent interest in Svit Nauky - but only if Dr. Zavadka transforms the magazine into a Russian-language periodical.

"Scientific American does not have a publisher in Russia. They have told me that if I were to print in Russian they would make at least a 50 percent investment into the project," explained Dr. Zavadka. Scientific American would then use his Lviv-based publishing house to expand into Russia.

But that is not Dr. Zavadka's goal. He told The Ukrainian Weekly that Ukraine desperately lacks Ukrainian-language publications and that he would rather publish in Ukrainian. However, he has little revenue and no partners, and receives no subsidies from the Ukrainian government, a situation that may soon force his hand.

Executives from Scientific American are scheduled to visit Dr. Zavadka in November to discuss the future development of the Ukrainian version of the magazine that carries their name, as well as a Russian-language version. Dr. Zavadka says that, due to his diminishing resources, he could be forced to go along with Scientific American's marketing strategy for expansion into Russia.

"I am not against it," explained Dr. Zavadka. "But, ideally, I would like to print first in Ukrainian, then in Russian."

Today Scientific American, the oldest publication in the U.S., which was established in 1845, is distributed around the world. It has separate national editions in nine countries: Italy, Germany, Kuwait, Japan, China, Poland, Spain, France and Ukraine, in addition to the U.S. edition.

A Russian edition existed before falling apart in 1992; before that there was a Soviet edition, which was funded by the U.S. State Department and disseminated at Soviet academic institutions.

Many of the foreign editions are financially supported by the national academies of sciences of the home countries, said Dr. Zavadka. In Ukraine the only financial backer is Dr. Zavadka in the name of the Nautilus Publishing House.

To jump-start circulation, Dr. Zavadka is turning to Ukrainian diaspora organizations to purchase subscriptions for students in Ukraine, as well as for academic institutions and libraries.

"I know that the Ukrainian diaspora is wary of sending charitable donations here, after the problems that many have experienced. And I'm not one to beg," said Dr. Zavadka. "So I believe that Ukrainians could best help the Ukrainian version of Scientific American by either buying subscriptions to Svit Nauky for themselves or buying subscriptions for individual Ukrainian students, or schools, universities and libraries."

Dr. Zavadka said the Kyiv-based America House, an arm of the United States Information Service, has agreed to support his project with subscriptions and that George Soros' Renaissance Foundation is considering financial support.

In the event Dr. Zavadka can develop a sufficient subscription base to make Svit Nauky profitable, he has already laid plans for expansion into the realm of television. The young publisher has had talks with representatives of the Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Jack Palance, who is of Ukrainian descent, on an idea for a televised version of Scientific American for Ukrainian television. According to Dr. Zavadka, Mr. Palance "has expressed interest" and is reviewing a business plan.

But that is for the future. Right now Dr. Zavadka knows that before experimenting with national broadcasting, he must prove his theory that a Ukrainian science magazine can survive in Ukraine.

For more information on Svit Nauky, or to subscribe, e-mail Nautilus Publishing House at: nautilus@meduniv.lviv.ua; or http://www.nautilus.com.ua; or phone 380-322-65-26-26, 380-322-75-58-56; or fax 380-322-76-78-18 or 380-322-63-73-27.

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