Some questions about The Moscow Times

[Wendist]

Hello everybody

A couple of days ago I "discovered" the internet site TheMoscowtimes.com thanks to a link in one of Dr_Woland´s posts.

Now some questions begin to emerge and I turn to all of you out there in the hope that you may have the answers.

What kind of paper is this MT? What is its reputation? A web site in english can hardly be the best way to reach russian readers, is there a russian speaking version? Is there a printed version?

Much of the material seems to come from Associated Press and Reuters, some of the staff apparently is american. Is this paper realy russian or is it a western paper with a local adress?

I have just begun to form an opinion of my own regarding this find of mine and any answers you care to give would be of great help to me.

Regards Thomas

[Dr_Woland]

Hi Thomas

Well, here's my own opinion about the MT...

the Moscow Times is an English-language newspaper printed in Moscow, and aimed at the ex-patriot, and English-speaking community here in Moscow.

They have a few correspondents here in Moscow for local stories. World stories are all "bought-in" from News Agency sources.

It's printed daily. It seems to be owned by Americans. The editor is a guy called Matt Bivens.

It is notoriously boring to read, although not as boring as The Russia Journal, or The Moscow Courier, or even the (rarely-seen) Moscow Tribune, which are its "rivals". The MT has recently featured "news stories" by its journalists like "what I did on my holidays in Vermont" :-( I think young USA journalists go to Moscow to try to make a reputation for themselves as "foreign correspondents" by working on the MT.

There is another English-language publication in Moscow called "the eXile", which calls itself "Moscow's only alternative", and it is certainly, errrr, alternative :-) (www.exile.ru)

The eXile's most famous stunt was about 3 years ago, on April 1. The Moscow Times (which is free, you pick it up in shops or bars) appeared, with a sex-scandal story about "Yeltsin in a nightclub". The whole issue looked like they had written it whilst very, very drunk. And in tiny letter, were the words "the eXile, edition 18" :-) Since that time, there has been outright hostility between the two publications, although the eXile's favourite enemy is currently The Russia Journal.

Dr W.