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RT, also known as Russia Today, is a state /government funded English-language Russian television channel. Founded by the government-controlledRIA Novosti, both RT and RIA Novosti refer to RT as an "autonomous non-profit organization", but critics have described the channel as pro-Kremlin and state-run.

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 Actualidad RT, a Spanish-language channel. 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.

The RT website offers a live stream available online to computer or mobile devices. It provides many of its news casts and featured shows via YouTube. RT is transmitted on 22 satellites, covering much of Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and Australia on a variety of carriers listed at its website. In September 2012 RT signed a contract with the Israeli company RRSat to distribute high definition channels to the United States, Latin America and Asia.

RT cooperates with a number of media sources in Russia and abroad, including private media like Izvestia, Kommersant, Trud, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Vedomosti, Argumenty i Fakty and the non-Russian Association for International Broadcasting, Huffington Post, News.com.au and WhatReallyHappened.com.

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

2008 South Ossetia War

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.

Criticisms and controversies of RT staff members

• Adam Kokesh - On August 2011, a show entitled Adam vs. The Man that was hosted by Adam Kokesh and broadcasted on RT was cancelled after an FEC complaint was filed charging that Kokesh’s on-air fundraising for Ron Paul broke rules against foreign campaign contributions. In his complaint to the FEC, Cliff Kincaid, president of America’s Survival and a frequent critic of Russia Today, argued that Kokesh's public endorsement amounted to “a political contribution consisting of valuable air time, provided by a foreign corporation, and airing in the U.S.”

• Lizzie Phelan - on September 10th 2012, UK broadcast regulator Ofcom found that two Libyan dispatches broadcast by Phelan on the Russia Today channel in August 2011 were in breach of its code on accuracy and impartiality.

• Margarita Simonyan - RT's current editor-in-chief who has been described by various sources as a Kremlin loyalist who is close to the Putin regime. According to Professor Andrei Richter, Simonyan was appointed to that position because she was well-connected with the editor acknowledging that she once received flowers on her birthday from Mr. Putin. Similarly, an article in The Moscow Times reports that Simonyan was chosen by the Kremlin to be the channel's editor in chief, though the article also stated that such appointments weren't unsurprising in Russia. Moreover, in an interview with the Washington Times, Simonyan acknowledged that she was too young (25) to be given the reins of Russia Today, although she ascribed the premature appointment to that the fact of oversupply of opportunities for young journalists after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Shortly after his appointment as the United States Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul challenged Margarita Simonyan over the Twitter in regards to allegations from RT that he sent Alexei Navalny to study at Yale, tweeting, ""@M_Simonyan when we met at White House you asked me tell you when RT ran something untrue. On RT today, @McFaul sent @Navalny to Yale. Lie."

Response to allegations

RT's staff have responded variously to criticisms of their news channel: Margarita Simonyan, the channel's editor-in-chief, rejected the allegation that RT broadcasts "Kremlin propaganda" and said that the news station "provides an alternative to mainstream media." According to Luke Harding she has said the network "takes a pro-Russian position", explaining RT's pro-Russian coverage of the 2008Russian-Georgian war. though she acknowledged that it strives for a "Russian viewpoint". Other RT staff have said that, "its coverage of Russia will be fair and balanced, not simply propaganda." In regards to RT's coverage of the to 2008 South Ossetia War, one senior journalist at the channel said that, “The Russian coverage I have seen has been much better than much of the Western coverage...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.”

Liberal political journalist Glenn Greenwald in his article "Attacks on RT and Assange reveal much about the critics" : described as, "engaging 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.".

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. "Is RT state-run?". RT. 16 June, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. Walker, Shaun (January 26, 2012). "Assange takes chat-show job with state-funded Russian TV". The Independent.
3. James Painter,The boom in counter-hegemonic news channels: a case study of Telesur, (undated, circa 2006), Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.
4. Burton, C., Drake, A. Hitting the Headlines In Europe, A Country-By-Country Guide to Effective Media Relations. Kogan Page Ltd. 2004. p.163
5. "Contact Us: Autonomous non-profit organization (ANO) "TV-Novosti", Channel "RT TV"". RT.
6. "RIA Novosti neither 'sponsor' nor 'backer' of Russia Today - statement". RIA Novosti.
7. ^ Kirchick, James (02-18-09). "Pravda on the Potomac (page 2)". The New Republic. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. ^ Harding, Luke (22 Aug 2012). "Let's not confuse the activities of WikiLeaks with those of Assange". The New Statesman.
9. ^ 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)
10. Corporate profile at Rt.com.
11. Foreign News Channels Drawing U.S. Viewers – IPS. Ipsnews.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-07.
13. ^ "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)
14. "Russia Today tomorrow". Broadband TV News. 15 September 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2007.
15. ^ "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)
16. Country profile: Russia - Media. BBC News
17. «Свобода слова» обходится все дороже Независимая, 5 September 2006
18. 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.
19. ШОСовая борьба «Интегрум», 30 October 2008
20. 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.
21. "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)
22. Fazletdinova, Darya (July 2, 2012). "Anatomy of Non-Resistance [Анатомия несопротивления]" (in Russian). Lenizdat. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
23. Corporate Profile RT
24. Actualidad QUIÉNES SOMOS (Spanish) RT
25. RTД – your guide to the depths of Russia — RT. Rt.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-07.
26. RT "Where to watch" page. See a listing of satellites at [http://www.lyngsat-address.com/or/RTTV-Russia.html RT.com satellite list, LyngSat Address, accessed September 24, 2012.
27. RRsat Signs Contract With Russia Today For Global Distribution Of RT HD Channels, RRSat Global Communications Network Ltd press release, September 7, 2012.
28. See RT “About” page and RT “Partners” page.
29. "New Global TV Venture to Promote Russia". VOANews. 06-07-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
30. Reporters Without Borders Don’t Fancy Russia Today Kommersant 21 October 2005
31. Controversial Propaganda: Using Stalin To Boost Russia Abroad Der Spiegel 20 November 2007
32. ^ Luke Harding (18-12-09). "Russia Today launches first UK ad blitz". London: The Guardian. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
33. Masha Karp "Counterpoints: KGB TV", Standpoint, March 2010
34. R.C. Campausen, KGB TV to Air Show Hosted by Anti-war Marine Vet, Accuracy in Media, January 10, 2011, Accessed 05-04-11.
35. Fox news uses Athens riots footage for Russian protests, Telegraph, retrieved 9 December 2011
36. Airwaves wobbly The Economist: Eastern Approaches 6 July 2010
37. ^ Sonia Scherr "Russian TV Channel Pushes 'Patriot' Conspiracy Theories", Intelligence Report, #139, Fall 2010, Southern Poverty Law Center
38. Smith, Ben (03-05-11). "Alex Jones on Russia Today". Politico. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
39. Russian TV reporter resigns after station cancels his Georgian broadcasts The Guardian, citing the Moscow Times 12 August 2008
40. Death toll in South Ossetia reaches 2,000 Russia Today 10 August 2008
41. Russia exaggerating South Ossetian death toll, says human rights group The Guardian 13 August 2008
42. Ian Burrell "From Russia with news", The Independent, 15 January 2010
43. ^ "Ron Paul booster’s show cancelled after FEC complaint". Politico. August 25, 2011.
44. http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/enforcement/broadcast-bulletins/obb213/obb213.pdf Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin 10 September 2012
45. Horn, Steven (14 May 2012). "Russia Today and the New Cultural Cold War". Nation of Change.
46. Elder, Miriam (25 January 2012). "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's TV show to be aired on Russian channel". The Guardian.
47. Barry and Schwirtz, Ellen and Michael (May 6, 2012). "Arrests and Violence at Overflowing Rally in Moscow". NYT.
48. Ioffe, Julia (September / October 2010). "What is Russia Today?". Columbia Journalism Review. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
49. Walker, Shaun (14 December 2011). "Why the Russian revolution is being televised at last".
50. Osborn, Andrew (August 16, 2005). "Russia's 'CNN' wants to tell it like it is". The Age.
51. ^ HEYMAN, STEPHEN (May 18, 2008). "A Voice of Mother Russia, in English". NYT.
52. Zagorodnov, Artem (September 25, 2008). "Today's woman who needs to be heard". The Moscow Times.
53. Rowland, Kara (Monday, October 27, 2008). "Russia Today: Youth served". The Washington Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
54. ^ Hirst, Tomas (01/03/12). "Putin's Perverse Fear of Soft Power". Huffington Post. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
55. ^ Toohey, Nathan (08/02/2012). "RT and McFaul argue over Navalny's US education". The Moscow Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
56. ^ 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."
57. Russia Today Courts Viewers With Controversy The Moscow Times 17 March 2010
58. Beth Knobel "Russian News, English Accent: New Kremlin Show Spins Russia Westward", CBS News, 12 December 2005
59. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990468?refCatId=14
60. Fang, Lee (July 30, 2012). "Liberal Defenders of Chick-Fil-A Unwittingly Defend Corporate Personhood [Updated]". The Nation.
61. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/arts/television/julian-assange-starts-talk-show-on-russian-tv.html?ref=television
62. http://www.salon.com/2012/04/18/attacks_on_rt_and_assange_reveal_much_about_the_critics/
63. "RT as Public Enemy? Top US media boss ready to fight 'enemies'". Russia Today. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
64. Is RT state-run?, Rt.com website, June, 16, 2011.
65. "The Team Carson Scott". Sky News Business Channel. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
66. James Freemantle website
67. 2009 Television Programming and Promotion Awards
68. AIB Media Excellence Awards 2007 Association for International Broadcasting, 8 October 2007
69. Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio, Евразийская Академия Телевидения и Радио
70. News of the Okrug 11th "Save and Preserve" International Environmental Television Festival, 9 June 2007
71. "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