The NTV Crisis: Should We Really Care?

[Dr_Woland]

>> . I think, you are free to express your opinion in Russia now <<

OLD SOVIET-ERA JOKE:

A USA tourist is visiting Moscow, and asks his Official State Guide about Press Freedom. "In the USA, if I disagree with the President, I have the right to stand outside the White House, with big placards, denouncing him and his policies. Can you do that here?"

"Oh yes, sir. If we disagree with the President's policies, we can stand with placards outside the USA Embassy too".

Sorry, Alex, but I believe you are wrong. Putin has exploited the law (and a Justice System which will do... whatever he tells them to do) to gain near-monopoly control of the media. NTV is now in Kremlin control (via Gaz-Prom). Berezovsky's TV6 is the only remaining independent station now (and has employed many former NTV staff). But this is a drop in the ocean, frankly. "Ekho Moskvy", the last remaining independent Radio station, will almost certainly be taken off the air in the next few months. Most of my friends are already preparing to return to the days of listing to Radio Free Europe, Voice Of America, and BBC Russkaya Sluzbha, as their main sources of radio news. Unless, of course, you want to know what clever things Mr President did today, how nicely he's combed his remaining hair, and what a tasteful tie he is wearing... the "News" a-la-Putin, and all strictly controlled by his PR henchman, Voloshin.

If you disagree with Putin, you can say it to your spouse, to your friends at home. But you will never, ever, be allowed to say it on TV or Radio, where President Put-In* is immune from any criticism. For an otherwise intelligent man, such actions resemble those of an imbecile, and someone who has fundamentally misunderstood how the media works.

Dr W.

* Put-In by Yel'tsin, that is...

[Jennacarana]

I admit, I am not very well informed on this issue, but I was under the impression that the head honcho of NTV was an oligarch corrupt as any other. While the selective enforcement of laws could certainly be questioned, I don't doubt that Gusinsky broke some laws.....

The end of democracy? I don't think so. More likely, growing pains.

Jennacarana

[Dr_Woland]

Hi Jennacaranna

>> the head honcho of NTV was <<

Go no further than "was" - anything else is redundant

The new CEO is a Putin appointment, a gent called Koch, who technically represents the new owners of the station, GazProm.

I wish I could be as hopeful as you are about the future of press freedom in Russia. Even American-owned papers like The Moscow Times have now had Kremlin control forced upon them. Matt Bivens, the former editor, was fired under mysterious circumstances (perhaps his continual line on Chechnya got under their skin?) and the paper is now nothing but a sequence of nice remarks about that lovely man, Mr Putin....

Dr W.

[old-reb]

At last someone who knows has assimilated all the lies, counter lies and spin on this freedom of the press issue in Russia and put it in a few words that I could believe and understand. This time our news media was telling the truth.
With all the bad news in Russia I hope that this doesn't make things even worse.
I think that the people elect the Duma (parliment) to represent their home areas in the USSR. I recall Boris shelling the Duma when they disagreed with him. I know it is hard to elect a good president here. They all lie to us but our government system seems to protect us from dictators. I believe that any US president would do anything to become a dictator.
"We bombed those Serb TV stations because they were telling a bunch of lies," Jamie Shea, for mister pecker pants.
Gene

[Dr_Woland]

>> What do you have against YABLOKO??? I <<

Sorry, Ron, I must have missed this one when you asked it earlier? I have nothing against Yabloko at all in principle. I even support them most of the time. But they are unelectable because of the impossible personality of their leader, Grigory Yavlinsky - who is insufferably arrogant, rude to interviewers and other delegates, and generally does everything possible to sabotage his own party's chances.

Dr W.

[mastodon]

The Russian Alfa Bank has given a credit to the NTV Television company. The sum of the credit is USD 12 million and the term of repayment is set at 1,5 years. The NTV press service has said that the credit was given “for market interest” and will be used for the company’s current operations. The company does not plan to take any more credits in the nearest future, the press service’s representative has said. //Prime-Tass

[mastodon]

Boris Jordan, the new general director of the NTV television company, has found accounts of the use of only a third of the loan taken over the five past years by the TV channel. Boris Jordan said this in an interview with the Financial Times.

He stressed that he could only trace 460 million dollars, which had been invested in the the channel and said there is little chance of getting accounts of the remaining 750 million dollars.

Jordan said that over the past nine months, debts have accumulated at NTV on wage payments, program production and other expenditures to the amount of 20 million dollars. Since the autumn of last year, rights for the production of new programs have not been bought and this is why at present NTV has just a few films, entertainment programs and other shows.

Jordan criticized high overhead expenses at NTV, in particular, - the extension of loans to the amount of 6 million dollars to the staff of the TV company.

In April this year, by the decision of a meeting of the shareholders of the NTV TV company, a new board was elected and Boris Jordan was appointed the company's general director. //RIA-Novosti

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"i just don't understand! where could $750M get to?"