Russia’s TV Rain Swims Against Tide in Sea of Kremlin Propaganda

Russia’s TV Rain Swims Against Tide in Sea of Kremlin Propaganda

MOSCOW—

Television, where most Russians get their news, has increasingly been under pressure in Russia. It is now almost completely state controlled.  But in Moscow, TV Rain stands out as an island in a sea of Kremlin media attacks.

Privately¹ owned TV Rain is one of Russia’s few remaining broadcasters willing to regularly air views critical of Kremlin policy and give air time to opposition² politicians.  

“We’re not a politically motivated network.  We don’t really see it as our goal to challenge the political establishment or anything like that,” anchor Natalia Shanetskaya tells VOA.  “You know, we just try to be as objective as we can and that’s really what we’re about.”

President Vladimir Putin’s government has increased state ownership of news media and imposed restrictions³ on critical reporting.  

Since 2005, U.S. democracy watchdog Freedom House has labeled Russia’s press freedom status as “Not Free” while its civil liberties and freedom rating fell in 2015 to a ranking of 6 out of a possible 7, with 7 being the worst.  

Reporters Without Borders’ 2016 World Press Freedom Index ranks Russia at 148 out of 180 countries, just behind Pakistan.   

Attracted by independence 

TV Rain's independence is what brought many of its staff to the station, including some like Shanetskaya who left state media as the Kremlin tightened⁴ its grip. 

“I actually quit RT (formerly “Russia Today”) about a month before the Crimea events,” she says, adding that  “I just had a feeling that things there were tightening⁵ in a very uncomfortable way.  And, as somebody who was there from the beginning, I found that disturbing."

The change in editorial line hit political reporting the hardest.  “For a while, since I covered business and economics, we were left alone,” says Shanetskaya.  “But, at some point I started to feel like we too were no longer unaffected by that.”

At TV Rain, Shanetskaya says she has gained back the media freedom she lost at RT.  

But refusing to join state media in pandering⁶ to authorities has come at a price for TV Rain.

Political pressure 

Political pressure over a program that questioned Soviet⁷ strategy during World War II led cable companies to drop the channel in 2014.  

Most at the news organization think it was an excuse. “I sincerely believe that if it wasn’t that story, about the siege of Leningrad, they would find something else,” TV Rain’s Digital Media Chief Ilya Klishin tells VOA.  “It was just a matter of days or weeks.”

Even after a quick apology for those offended, the pressure continued to mount with some calling for the station to be shut down.  

Klishin says they were tipped off about a month in advance that authorities were coming after them.

“We aggravated⁸ the guys at the Kremlin because, you know, we co-sponsored some of (Russian opposition leader Alexei) Navalny’s research on corruption⁹.  Specifically, of the people in the president’s administration,” says Klishin.  “They were trying any way to get their revenge.”

The Kremlin routinely denies being behind any political pressure on the media.  But, at the time, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, voiced support for the nationalist campaign mounted against TV Rain and backed by pro-Kremlin politicians.  “I do not know of any laws that these actions violated,” he said about TV Rain.

“But, I think that there is something more serious from the point of view of morality and ethics,” he concluded ominously¹⁰.  

Subscription-based 

To survive financially after the loss of advertising¹¹ revenue, TV Rain was forced to change to an online subscription-based business model.  

Subscribers have grown to more than 70,000, and Klishin says its web site gets some six million unique views a month.  

But, along with all Russian media, TV Rain is caught up in a growing downpour of restrictions.  

“We cover everything that doesn’t violate Russian criminal laws,” says Klishin.  “But, at some point, Russian criminal laws now are contradicting the issues of freedom of speech.”

Vague but strict laws against “extremism,” promoting “gay propaganda” or “calls for secession” have cast a shadow over discussions on rights issues and Russian-occupied Crimea.

“So, if you say on air that Crimea is not a part of Russia,” Klishin says to underscore the point, “then it could be interpreted as a call to secession.”  

Audience feedback 

While pro-Kremlin nationalists attack Russia’s few independent broadcasters like TV Rain as “opposition media,” Shanetskaya says they welcome audience response.  

“What’s beautiful about TV Rain is that we get a lot of feedback from our audience, period,” she says.  “As somebody who worked at RT (Russia Today) for seven years, I can tell you I had no idea who watched the network or who watched the product that I was responsible for producing.”  

Critics question RT’s claims of a massive and fast-growing international audience for what it calls its “alternative perspective on major global events” and “the Russian viewpoint.”  

Still, Russia’s few independent, domestic broadcasters like TV Rain are swimming against a tide of state media.  

TV Rain is looking to entertainment programming to reach a larger audience in Russia beyond its small urban, liberal, and well educated base.  

“One of the ways is reaching out to the younger audience that kind of, you know, thought we were not that cool anymore because all we talked (about) was war in Ukraine, corruption, Putin, Syria,” says Klishin. 

1 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

5 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

6 pandering   

v.迎合（他人的低级趣味或淫欲）( pander的现在分词 )；纵容某人；迁就某事物

参考例句：

• This magazine is criticized for pandering to the vulgar taste of some readers. 这家杂志因迎合某些读者的低级趣味而遭到批评。 来自辞典例句
• We're four points up there; we don't need to get hit for pandering. 我们在那儿领先四个百分点；我们不必为了迎合一些选民而遭受批评。 来自电影对白

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 ominously   

adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地

参考例句：

• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mammy shook her head ominously. 嬷嬷不祥地摇着头。 来自飘（部分）

11 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。