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RT, also known as Russia Today, is a government-funded autonomous, non-profit global multilingual television news network based in Russia. It was founded in 2005 as Russia Today by the government-owned news agency RIA Novosti "to become a sort of Russia's BBC".

RT shows round-the-clock news bulletins, documentaries, talk shows, and debates, as well as sports news and cultural programs on Russia. The service is aimed at the overseas news market and broadcast through 22 satellite and 230 cable operators throughout the world. In addition to its English-language broadcast, it also runs Rusiya Al-Yaum, an Arabic language channel, and Spanish-language channels. It also runs a documentary channel. RT has 21 bureaus in 16 countries, with "presences" in Washington, D.C., New York, London, Paris, Delhi, Cairo, Baghdad, Kiev and other cities. It employs over 2,000 media professionals worldwide. It broadcasts to 430 million people in over 100 countries. RT America is available to 50 million people in the United States.

RT is the second most-watched foreign news channel in the United States, after BBC News. The network's YouTube channel has gained over 700 million views.

History

RT started broadcasting on 10 December 2005 with nearly 100 English-speaking journalists reporting for it. It was the first all-digital Russian TV network.

The network was launched by the government-owned news agency ANO TV-Novosti in 2005, and much of the network's annual running costs are funded directly from the Russian Federal Budget.

In August 2007, RT had television's first ever live report from the North Pole, which lasted 5 minutes, 41 seconds. An RT crew participated in the Arktika 2007 Russian polar expedition, led by Artur Chilingarov on the Akademik Fyodorov icebreaker.

On April 17, 2012 RT began to broadcast the World Tomorrow, a news interview program hosted by Julian Assange. The first guest was Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. WikiLeaks described the show as "a series of in-depth conversations with key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries from around the world."

Budget

RT cost $30 million in 2005 to establish and $60 million for its first year of operation. Margarita Simonyan, RT's editor-in-chief, has said the station was born out of the desire to present an unbiased portrait of Russia.

The 2012 Russian Federal Budget allocated 11 billion rubles (US$334 million) to RT's parent company ANO TV-Novosti.

Network

RT consists of its main RT International English-language channel, RT America, RT Arabic, Actualidad RT in Spanish, and RT Documentary.

Availability

Satellite and cable broadcasts

RT is transmitted on thirteen satellites, covering Europe, Asia, the Americas, southern Africa and Australia. Of these, eleven transmit the channel free to air, enabling it to be received without a subscription.

Viewers in Russia can receive the channel as a part of the NTV Plus basic package as well as Kosmos TV.

In the UK and Ireland, the channel is available on the Sky platform's channel 512, including in the Freesat from Sky package. It is also available in some parts of the UK 24 hours per day on Digital Terrestrial platform Freeview channel 85 and also on Freesat channel 206.

In Italy, the channel is available via SKY Italia on channel 531.

In New Zealand, the channel is available via Sky Network Television on channel 96.

In most of Africa it's available via Multichoice's DStv Platform.

In the United States, the channel is available nationwide to Dish Network subscribers (channel 280). It is also available to digital customers of Time-Warner Cable in New York and New Jersey on channel 135 (channel 196 in upstate New York), in Los Angeles and the desert cities on channel 236, and in San Diego and North County on channel 222. Digital customers of Comcast can receive the channel in Chicago and San Francisco on channel 103, Washington, D.C. on channel 274, and in the Seattle Metropolitan area and Spokane (channel 81). Digital subscribers to Buckeye CableSystem can receive the channel in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan on channel 266. The channel is also available in the Washington, D.C. area via Cox (channel 474), RCN (channel 33), and Verizon FIOS (channel 455).

Portions of RT are additionally shown throughout the United States on MHz Worldview. Since MHZ Worldview is shown as a digital subchannel for some PBS stations. This makes RT available on digital terrestrial television in the United States. MHz Networks, which owns MHZ Worldview, does a complete simulcast of RT on one of the digital subchannels of WNVC, one of the two stations it owns in Northern Virginia. Over the air, it is shown on WYBE 35.4 in Philadelphia.

In January 2010, RT became available in major cities in Western Canada through Shaw Cable. It also began appearing a couple months earlier in major cities throughout Eastern Canada from Rogers Cable. In the Toronto area, it's on channel 887 (and also on 177).

Spanish speaking countries

The Spanish service of RT is available via cable and satellite signal. In Spain Digital+ offers RT in channel 312, the TV cable company ONO in channel 401 and Imagenio in channel 138. Movistar TV Digital broadcasts RT-Español in channel 744 in Chile, and in Colombia, Peru and Venezuela in channel 463. In Argentina some regional cable networks include RT in their packages.

Online

A live stream of the channel offering a choice of three resolutions for differing capacity connections is available via the RT website. The stream is also available in English and Arabic through Livestation which can also be viewed on televisions using the Roku player. Video clips of some of the programming is available on the website. A lesser amount is also available on YouTube.

Controversies, criticisms and response

Allegations of pro-Kremlin bias

After the announcement the station would be launched, the U.S. government-operated VOA interviewed Anton Nosik, chief editor of MosNews.com, said the creation of Russia Today "smacks of Soviet-style propaganda campaigns" and that "that the channel was not created as a response to any existing demand." Similarly a representative of Reporters Without Borders called the newly announced network “another step of the state to control information.”

In 2007 Der Spiegel criticized Russia Today for running an advertising campaign "peddling the softer side" of former Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin. 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," and wrote that the network promoted an "unashamedly pro-Vladimir Putin view of the world." Harding has described RT as "the Kremlin’s English-language propaganda channel, whose mission is to accuse the west of hypocrisy while staying mute about Russia’s own failings." And James Kirchick in The New Republic criticized the network as presenting " often virulent anti-Americanism, worshipful portrayal of Russian leaders, and comical production values," writing it can be "relied upon to repeat Kremlin talking points." In 2010 Masha Karp wrote in Standpoint magazine that contemporary Russian issues "such as the suppression of free speech and peaceful demonstrations, or the economic inefficiency and corrupt judiciary, are either ignored or their significance played down".

A 2011 article by Accuracy in Media criticized RT as a "propaganda network funded by the Moscow regime of Vladimir Putin", and quoted former KGB officer Konstantin Preobrazhensky who call it "a part of the Russian industry of misinformation and manipulation". And Andrew Osborn in the London Daily Telegraph described RT as "the Kremlin's slavishly loyal English-language propaganda channel".

Coverage of conspiracy theories and interviews with extremists

The Economist magazine, which classified RT's reporting as "weirdly constructed propaganda," has suggested that the channel has provided a platform to conspiracy theorists. The Russian-born American writer Julia Ioffe has said that Russia Today, in attempting to feature "an alternate point of view, it is forced to talk to marginal, offensive, and often irrelevant figures who can take positions bordering on the absurd" including someone who asserts "that the CIA is testing dangerous drugs on unwitting civilians" and also "the 'Truther' claim that 9/11 was an inside job makes a frequent appearance on the channel". The American Southern Poverty Law Center civil rights organisation in 2010 pointed to the channel giving extensive coverage to the 'birther' and the New World Order conspiracy theories. Sonia Scherr, the author of the SPLC article, asserted that the Patriot militia organizer Jim Stachowiak was a regular interviewee and wrote that the opinions of "white nationalist" Jared Taylor had been underplayed and had gone unchallenged by any of his opponents when he appeared on the channel.

Ben Smith criticized an interview between Alex Jones and Russia Today discussing Osama bin Laden death conspiracy theories and called Russia Today a "raw propaganda channel".

Criticisms of coverage of specific news incidents

During the 2008 South Ossetia War Russia Today correspondent William Dunbar resigned saying "the real news, the real facts of the matter, didn't conform to what they were trying to report, and therefore, they wouldn't let me report it." Human Rights Watch said that the claim of 2,000 South Ossetian casualties, announced by Russia Today, was "exaggerated." The Moscow correspondent for The Independent said that Russia Today's coverage of the war was "obscene", claiming that the channel was "extraordinarily biased" and had "instructed reporters not to report from Georgian villages within South Ossetia that had been ethnically cleansed." Julia Ioffe has detailed examples of RT journalists who were "reprimanded" for deviating from the Moscow line when it deviated from what they saw while reporting from the region.

Response to allegations

According to The Moscow Times, a foreign language daily with a circulation of 35,000 copies, Margarita Simonyan, the channel's editor-in-chief, has rejected the allegation that RT broadcasts "Kremlin propaganda" but acknowledged that it strives for a "Russian viewpoint". She would have said the channel welcomes controversy, as it "provides an alternative to mainstream media." and that "we don't give airtime to public figures who you call extremist any more than CNN and other channels give airtime to people who many in Russia consider extremists". According to Luke Harding she has said the network "takes a pro-Russian position", explaining RT's pro-Russian coverage of the 2008 Russian-Georgian war.

According to Beth Knobel of CBS News, "Russia Today's young staff claims its coverage of Russia will be fair and balanced, not simply propaganda."

According to Variety magazine News "Sources at Russia Today — which has a newsroom largely staffed by British journalists — confirmed that Dunbar had resigned but said allegations of bias were nonsense.“The Russian coverage I have seen has been much better than much of the Western coverage,” one senior journalist at the channel told Daily Variety. “My view is that Russia Today is not particularly biased at all. When you look at the Western media, there is a lot of genuflection towards the powers that be. Russian news coverage is largely pro-Russia, but that is to be expected.”

On a visit to Moscow, Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, met Russian officials to discuss what's being done to restore peace in South Ossetia. While Hammarberg refused to confirm the estimates of over one and a half thousand dead provided by Russia, he said the number was likely to be significantly higher than the dozens mentioned by Human Rights Watch, as many of the dead were likely to be buried privately or remain missing. “The figures given by such organizations as America’s Human Rights Watch are based on the number of identified bodies. Now the exact death toll is not known,” he said. The Russian side estimates the human losses at about 2,000 people while the Georgian side claims the figure is much lower. “But the whereabouts of many people is currently not known and it’s not clear whether they are dead or not. Many may be still hiding,” he said. “Moreover, not all burial places have been detected.”

Glenn Greenwald, a prominent and award winning US journalist criticized the article in The New York Times reviewing the launch of the Julian Assange Talk Show on RT, in his article "Attacks on RT and Assange reveal much about the critics" :

"Let’s examine the unstated premises at work here. There is apparently a rule that says it’s perfectly OK for a journalist to work for a media outlet owned and controlled by a weapons manufacturer (GE/NBC/MSNBC), or by the U.S. and British governments (BBC/Stars & Stripes/Voice of America), or by Rupert Murdoch and Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal (Wall St. Journal/Fox News), or by a banking corporation with long-standing ties to right-wing governments (Politico), or by for-profit corporations whose profits depend upon staying in the good graces of the U.S. government (Kaplan/The Washington Post), or by loyalists to one of the two major political parties (National Review/TPM/countless others), but it’s an intrinsic violation of journalistic integrity to work for a media outlet owned by the Russian government. Where did that rule come from?"

"Assange criticized Nasrallah for failing to support the citizens of Syria fighting against the Assad government. The Russian government has been an ally of the Assad government. So the position Assange took in his very first interview was directly contrary to the policy of the Russian government. I’d say it gives great credence to Assange’s claim of his editorial independence. It makes those claiming otherwise look like deceivers and liars."

"The real cause of American media hostility toward RT is the same as what causes it to hate Assange: the reporting it does reflects poorly on the U.S. Government, the ultimate sin in the eyes of our “adversarial” press corps....In other words, like Assange, they engage in real adversarial journalism with regard to American political power. And they are thus scorned and ridiculed by those who pretend to do that but never actually do."

In response to claims by the Chairman of the U.S. Government's Broadcasting Board of Governors, Walter Isaacson, that his organization needs to fight its "enemies", defined as Iran's Press TV, China's CCTV, and Russia's Russia Today, RTs flagship program CrossTalk host Peter Lavelle said that Isaacson "doesn't have anything to do with journalism". Instead, Lavelle said that he is a promoter of a "media war" designed to push "the US foreign policy agenda" onto a world that is increasingly skeptical about it. Lavelle attributes this to him "not moving on from the Cold War", coupled with concerns about media funding cuts in a time of economic uncertainty.. Soon after, Isaacson recanted his statement: "I of course did not mean to refer to, nor do I consider, that Russia, China, and the other countries or news services are enemies of the U.S., and I'm sorry if I gave that impression,"

In June 2011 RT responded to criticism that it is "state-run" by listing well-known state-run television networks like the British Broadcasting Corporation ("BBC"), France 24, Germany's Deutsche Welle and the United States' Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Presenters

Professional awards

• November 2011 – Martyn Andrews and the weekly "Moscow Out" arts and entertainment show awarded the "ShereMedia Award" for Best Lifestyle Program
• January 2009 – One of 100+ of Silver World Medals issued in 2009, for Best News Documentary “A city of desolate mothers” from the New York Festivals
• November 2008 – Special Jury Award in the Best Creative Feature category for a Russian Glamour feature story at Media Excellence Awards in London
• September 2008 – Russia's most prestigious broadcasting award TEFI to Kevin Owen in Best News Anchor category
• November 2007 – RT's report on the anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe received a special prize from the international 2007 AIB Media Excellence Awards in the News Coverage category. Other nominees included major international broadcasters such as BBC, France 24, Deutsche Welle, CBS, Al Arabiya, and others. There was only one story by CBS News which rated higher than RT and it received the Grand Prix
• September 2007 – Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio awarded RT with the Prize for Professional Skillfulness
• June 2007 – The 11th "Save and Preserve" International Environmental Television Festival awarded its Grand Prix to RT's Meeting with Nature series. There were 284 entries competing in 10 categories, including a work by German TV channel Deutsche Welle
• September 2006 – The 10th "Golden Tambourine" International Festival for Television programs and films awarded RT's documentary People of the Bering Strait in the Ethnography and Travel category

See also

• State media
• Freedom of the press in Russia
• Voice of Russia

References

1. ^ Nikolaus von Twickel. Russia Today courts viewers with controversy. The Moscow Times. March 23, 2010. The article notes that RIA-Novosti issued a 2010 statement that it is "neither a sponsor nor a backer of Russia Today," and, according to the article, "merely participated in establishing the channel as an Autonomous Non-Profit Organization, which provided for its complete legal, editorial and operational independence."
2. Burton, C., Drake, A. Hitting the Headlines In Europe, A Country-By-Country Guide to Effective Media Relations. Kogan Page Ltd. 2004. p.163
3. http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050607/40484511.html
4. Corporate profile at Rt.com.
5. Foreign News Channels Drawing U.S. Viewers – IPS. Ipsnews.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-07.
7. ^ "Journalism mixes with spin on Russia Today: critics". CBC News. 10 March 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
8. "Russia Today tomorrow". Broadband TV News. 15 September 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2007.
9. ^ "Russia Today to be 24-hour, English TV station". CBC News. 7 June 2005. Retrieved 6 May 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
10. Country profile: Russia - Media. BBC News
11. «Свобода слова» обходится все дороже Независимая, 5 September 2006
12. James Painter, The boom in counter-hegemonic news channels: a case study of Telesur, (undated), Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.
13. ШОСовая борьба «Интегрум», 30 October 2008
14. Alessandra Stanley, The Prisoner as Talk Show Host; Julian Assange Starts Talk Show on Russian TV, New York Times, April 17, 2012.
    • Raphael Satter, Assange interviews Hezbollah leader in TV premiere, Associated Press via Denver Post, April 17, 2012.
15. "New Assange TV Series". wikileaks.org. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
    • "The World Tomorrow". WikiLeaks. 13 April 2012. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
    • "Assange show premiere: Time to watch 'The World Tomorrow' (PHOTOS)". RT. 13 April 2012. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
16. Fazletdinova, Darya (July 2, 2012). "Anatomy of Non-Resistance [Анатомия несопротивления]" (in Russian). Lenizdat. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
17. Corporate Profile RT
18. USA RT
19. About (Arabic) RT
20. Actualidad QUIÉNES SOMOS (Spanish) RT
21. RTД – your guide to the depths of Russia — RT. Rt.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-07.
22. "Russia Today:Satellite". 17 September 2008.
23. "Free TV from Russia". 17 September 2008.
24. "New Global TV Venture to Promote Russia". VOANews. 06-07-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
25. Reporters Without Borders Don’t Fancy Russia Today Kommersant 21 October 2005
26. Controversial Propaganda: Using Stalin To Boost Russia Abroad Der Spiegel 20 November 2007
27. ^ Luke Harding (18-12-09). "Russia Today launches first UK ad blitz". London: The Guardian. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
28. Harding, Luke (22 Aug 2012). "Let's not confuse the activities of WikiLeaks with those of Assange". The New Statesman.
29. Kirchick, James (02-18-09). "Pravda on the Potomac (page 2)". The New Republic. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
30. Masha Karp "Counterpoints: KGB TV", Standpoint, March 2010
31. R.C. Campausen, KGB TV to Air Show Hosted by Anti-war Marine Vet, Accuracy in Media, January 10, 2011, Accessed 05-04-11.
32. Fox news uses Athens riots footage for Russian protests, Telegraph, retrieved 9 December 2011
33. Airwaves wobbly The Economist: Eastern Approaches 6 July 2010
34. ^ Ioffe, Julia (2010). Columbia Journalism Review http://www.cjr.org/feature/what_is_russia_today.php. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
35. ^ Sonia Scherr "Russian TV Channel Pushes 'Patriot' Conspiracy Theories", Intelligence Report, #139, Fall 2010, Southern Poverty Law Center
36. Smith, Ben (03-05-11). "Alex Jones on Russia Today". Politico. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
37. Russian TV reporter resigns after station cancels his Georgian broadcasts The Guardian, citing the Moscow Times 12 August 2008
38. Death toll in South Ossetia reaches 2,000 Russia Today 10 August 2008
39. Russia exaggerating South Ossetian death toll, says human rights group The Guardian 13 August 2008
40. Ian Burrell "From Russia with news", The Independent, 15 January 2010
41. Russia Today Courts Viewers With Controversy The Moscow Times 17 March 2010
42. Beth Knobel "Russian News, English Accent: New Kremlin Show Spins Russia Westward", CBS News, 12 December 2005
43. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990468?refCatId=14
44. http://rt.com/news/death-toll-in-south-ossetia-still-unknown-european-watchdog/
45. Further reading
46. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/arts/television/julian-assange-starts-talk-show-on-russian-tv.html?ref=television
47. http://www.salon.com/2012/04/18/attacks_on_rt_and_assange_reveal_much_about_the_critics/
48. "RT as Public Enemy? Top US media boss ready to fight 'enemies'". Russia Today. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
49. http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/10/05/new_bbg_chief_wants_more_money_to_combat_enemies_such_as_china_and_russia
50. Is RT state-run?, Rt.com website, June, 16, 2011.
51. "The Team Carson Scott". Sky News Business Channel. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
52. James Freemantle website
53. 2009 Television Programming and Promotion Awards
54. AIB Media Excellence Awards 2007 Association for International Broadcasting, 8 October 2007
55. Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio, Евразийская Академия Телевидения и Радио
56. News of the Okrug 11th "Save and Preserve" International Environmental Television Festival, 9 June 2007
57. "Golden Tambourine" International Festival for Television programs and films Zolotoy Buben

External links

• RT website
• RT's channel on YouTube
• RT on Twitter
• RT on Facebook
• RT Live Flash stream

Template:International news channels

• 24-hour television news channels
• 2005 establishments in Russia
• English-language television stations
• Foreign television channels broadcasting in the United Kingdom
• Multilingual news services
• Orphan initialisms
• Propaganda organisations
• Russian television networks
• Spanish-language television stations
• Television channels and stations established in 2005