http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/563290/russia_curtails_radio_free_europe/index.html
Russia Curtails Radio Free Europe Click to enlarge By MIKE ECKEL MOSCOW - Authorities have dramatically curtailed the number of stations broadcasting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America news programs, officials said Friday, sending an unsettling signal about the state of press freedoms in Russia. News of the restrictions comes amid growing criticism about the state of democracy under President Vladimir Putin and a week before Russia hosts a summit of leaders from the world's wealthiest democracies. Some European and U.S. lawmakers have called for Putin's government to be taken to task for closing down media outlets and squeezing opposition groups. Russian officials say the matter is simply one of stations' conforming with their broadcast licenses. But radio station owners said the restrictions close down an essential source of information, particularly in far-flung regions where media outlets are fewer than in Moscow and St. Petersburg. "In Moscow, there's still freedom in some sense. But in the regions, freedom has ended. There is none," said Boris Mazin, programming manager for a broadcast holding company in Kazan, about 450 miles east of Moscow. Between May 2005 and May 2006, the number of stations broadcasting programming by Radio Liberty fell from 30 to "no more than a handful," according to Jeffrey Trimble, the service's acting president. For Voice of America, the 42 affiliates that used its programs in August 2005 has dwindled to just five. Both Radio Free Europe and Voice of America are funded by the U.S. government, but with an independent editorial board. Trimble said the organization's bureaus in Russia continue to operate, as do its Internet sites, shortwave broadcasts and its AM station in Moscow. But he said Russian radio station owners have informed Radio Liberty officials that they were under strong pressure to drop the programming. "It certainly is consistent with the trend by Russian authorities to control the media in the country," he said. Yevgeny Strelchik, a top official at the Russian Culture Ministry's media department, said the curtailment came because many radio stations were using Radio Liberty programming but made no mention of that in their license applications. "We have no complaints against Radio Liberty. It is a purely a question of the stations' licenses, of them violating their 'programming conception,'" he said. During the Soviet era, Radio Liberty was one of the few sources of uncensored information in the country. In 1991, Boris Yeltsin, as president of the Soviet Russian republic, allowed the organization to open a bureau in Russia. Since Putin came to power in 1999, his government has hamstrung several media outlets, most prominently Russia's national television broadcasters, which are controlled by the government or its allies. He has responded to criticism by saying print media is flourishing particularly via the Internet - something disputed by several radio stations. One news editor at a central Russian broadcaster, who asked not to be named fearing authorities could take further action against his license, blamed the restrictions on an interview conducted by a Radio Liberty freelancer with Shamil Basayev, the Chechen warlord who has claimed responsibility for Russia's worst terrorist attacks. Radio Liberty did not broadcast the interview, but ABC did in July 2005. Russian officials reacted angrily, refusing to renew ABC's authorization and suggesting Radio Liberty would face new scrutiny. Mazin said his company's two radio stations broadcast three to four hours of Radio Liberty programming a day before last August, when he received a warning from federal regulators saying the station was in violation of its license. He said when he asked to file a new license application to allow for the programming, officials essentially told him not to bother. "We think that the more diverse sources of information that show up in the air, people will be better informed and make their own opinion," said another Russian radio news editor who also asked not to be named fearing authorities could take further action against his license. "That's not going to happen now." Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
