Saturday 15 March 2014

english language media as propaganda in the ukraine

What are the perspectives of the media? How far can they be trusted?

Here's a nice little radio piece on the subject:

How Government-Funded Media Outlets Are Viewed
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
The English-language, Russia-funded TV network Russia Today (RT) has been in the news after an anchor resigned on air last week, saying she no longer could work for “a network that whitewashes the actions of Putin.”
Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson takes a look at RT, as well as CCTV out of China, the BBC from the U.K. and Voice of America from the U.S., with Lawrence Pintak, founding dean of The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University.
On the Media: Interview with RT anchor who denounced Russia’s actions 

How Government-Funded Media Outlets Are Viewed | Here & Now

The current debate over the future of the Ukraine is particularly strident in the English-language press in Russia, the Crimea and the Ukraine:
Jay Doubleyou: the politics of language

There is the pro-European movement in the Ukraine:
Euromaidan in English | Facebook
Euromaidan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There is Pravda Ukraine available in English:
en.pravda.com.ua

There is the Russian Pravda:
English pravda.ru: Russian news and analysis
Pravda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
... which isn't exactly friendly to the West:
Putting the Crimea into context - English pravda.ru
The US and Britain's Paedophile Colony - English pravda.ru

And 'The Voice of Russia' radio:
The Voice of Russia: News, Breaking news, Politics, Economics, Business, Russia, International current events, Expert opinion, podcasts, Video

There is Moscow News which is a little more 'balanced':
What the Papers Say, March 11, 2014 | The Moscow Times

The Moscow Times is slightly more 'critical':
Ahead of Rushed Crimea Vote, Sharp Divisions on Display | The Moscow Times
The Moscow Times - Breaking News, Business, Culture & Multimedia from Russia
The Moscow Times - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As is its sister newspaper:
The St. Petersburg Times | The leading English-language newspaper in St. Petersburg

Here are the stories about the Ukraine from the perspective of the English-language cable TV network
Russia Today:

That the new government is 'fascist':
‘Nothing to do with democracy’: New Ukraine regime makes swift and controversial steps — RT News
Ukraine’s new authorities resort to ‘dictatorial’ methods in regions – Russia — RT News
‘Pushed to leave’: Packing moods among Ukraine’s Jewish minority amidst far-right rise — RT News
‘They are fascists!’ German Left leader blasts Merkel’s support of illegitimate Ukraine govt — RT News

That yet another former Soviet bloc country has shown contempt for the Red Army:
Monument to soldiers who died liberating Ukraine from Nazis toppled (PHOTOS, VIDEO) — RT News
Protesters topple Lenin monument in Kiev, smash to pieces with hammers (PHOTOS) — RT News
​Ukrainian city demolishes monument to Russian general who beat Napoleon — RT News

That the Ukranians are not respecting minority rights:
Canceled language law in Ukraine sparks concern among Russian and EU diplomats — RT News
Voiding Ukraine’s minority languages law ‘wrong’ – Luxembourg FM — RT News

That things are OK meanwhile in the Crimea, for example:
With Western media and the self-proclaimed government in Kiev ranting about the Russian invasion in Crimea, international journalists on the scene are struggling to find any evidence of these claims.
Crimea referendum opponents manipulate detached norms of intl law – Churkin — RT News
​Crimea ‘calm’ ahead of referendum – intl observers — RT News

That the EU is anti-Russian:
EU resolution on Ukraine is anti-Russian, distorting events – Moscow — RT News
'No surprise Western govts prop up Ukrainian rebels, call them legitimate' — RT Op-Edge

But what exactly is Russia Today? 

Since its foundation in 2005, RT has been widely accused as being a mouthpiece of the Kremlin. In an interview with US government-owned external broadcaster Voice of America, the Russian-Israeli blogger Anton Nosik (ru) said the creation of Russia Today "smacks of Soviet-style propagandacampaigns."[136] A representative of Reporters Without Borders called the newly announced network "another step of the state to control information."[137] In 2009, Luke Harding in The Guardian described Russia Today's advertising campaign in the United Kingdom as an "ambitious attempt to create a new post-Soviet global propaganda empire."[32]
An 2013 article in Der Spiegel noted that RT is the most successful foreign broadcaster in many American cities and that RT "uses a chaotic mixture of conspiracy theories and crude propaganda", referring to a program which linked the Boston Marathon bombings to a US government conspiracy.[142]
RT (TV network) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jay Doubleyou: english-language news media - part two

The picture of the new government in the Ukraine as 'fascist' is especially poisonous:

Russian propaganda and Ukrainian rumour fuel anger and hate in Crimea
The Russian media is serving up a crude portrayal of events as a patriotic fight against fascists in Kiev and spurring its own far-right into action
... "What you foreigners don't get is that those people in Maidan, they are fascists," said Alexander, a Simferopol resident drinking at a bar in the city on Monday night. "I mean, I am all for the superiority of the white race, and all that stuff, but I don't like fascists."
Russian propaganda and Ukrainian rumour fuel anger and hate in Crimea | World news | The Guardian
Don't believe the Russian propaganda about Ukraine's 'fascist' protesters | Olexiy Haran | Comment is free | theguardian.com

But, then, the Western news coverage is not exactly sympathetic towards Putin's Russia:

Ukraine: western media coverage's bias should be held into account
Nobody can doubt the brutality of Putin’s Russia. But the way the Ukraine conflict is covered in the west should raise some questions
One of the more revealing attributes of western media chest-beating has been the outrage over the RT (formerly Russia Today) TV station, a Russian-government outlet. When two anchors condemned Moscow’s moves in Ukraine and Crimea, both women were praised as truth-tellers. RT, of course, offers a Kremlin-backed narrative, and we can judge it accordingly, but the criticism of the channel in the west presumes that our media is so much freer and open when analysing war. How quickly we forget the ways in which CNN, as just one corporate example, makes editorial decisions which could be questioned when considered in light of their sponsorship model.
Ukraine: western media coverage's bias should be held into account | Antony Loewenstein | Comment is free | theguardian.com

Here's an interesting take on Russia Today:

Russia Today anchor denounces Russian invasion of Crimea on live RT broadcast
7:23 AM, Mar 5, 2014

MOSCOW - A Washington-based news anchor for the English-language Russia Today news network shocked many viewers when she criticized Russia for invading Crimea.

Abby Martin ended her program by explaining her opposition to armed invention by Russia.

"Just because I work here, for RT, doesn't mean I don't have editorial independence and I can't stress enough how strongly I am against any military intervention in sovereign nations' affairs," she told viewers.

The English-language Russia Today is widely perceived as the voice of the Kremlin, with Reporters Without Borders describing it as a "step of the state to control information."

"Contrary to the popular opinion, RT doesn’t beat its journalists into submission, and they are free to express their own opinions, not just in private but on the air. This is the case with Abby’s commentary on the Ukraine," a statement from the management of RT said. "We respect her views, and the views of all our journalists, presenters and program hosts, and there will be absolutely no reprimands made against Ms. Martin. In her comment Ms. Martin also noted that she does not possess a deep knowledge of reality of the situation in Crimea. As such we’ll be sending her to Crimea to give her an opportunity to make up her own mind from the epicenter of the story."

On her Facebook page, Martin said she won't be going to Crimea: "First I get called a "Russian propagandist" for toeing the RT line, now I am getting vitriol from people claiming I "sold out" to Western imperialism because I voiced an opinion that I believe in. I am against military intervention. Period. And no, I am not going to Crimea."

On Twitter, Martin posted, "My ideology is staunchly anti military intervention no matter what the state, so my reporting won't waver in reflecting that."

.

Russia Today anchor Abby Martin Criticizing Russian invasion of Crimea - YouTube
Russia Today anchor denounces Russian invasion of Crimea on live RT broadcast - KSHB.com

Here's a particularly harsh critique of RT:
How The Truth Is Made At Russia Today

But what about the English-language Kyiv Post?
KyivPost / Independence. Community. Trust
Kyiv Post - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It's stories are hardly balanced either:
Johnson: Putin should be held responsible for further bloodshed in Ukraine
Russian troops invade Kherson Oblast, Ukrainians declare right to fight back
Pro-Kremlin Crimean leader Aksyonov denies allegations of criminal past

Do we call the capital of the Ukraine Kiev or Kyiv or what?
Ukraine and the politics of transliteration - CSMonitor.com

Meanwhile, journalists are having a hard time:
More journalists obstructed on the job in Crimea - Committee to Protect Journalists
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