"Govt. wants independent radio Echo"
Earlier coverage of this topic
MOSCOW (AP) - A senior Kremlin aide on Tuesday denied accusations that Russia's government wants to take control over a premier independent radio station - despite a recent court ruling that put the broadcaster under the authority of a state-controlled company.
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Government links:
- The State Duma(Rus)
- Russian government(Rus & Eng)
Foreign media press & orgainizations in Russia:
- Conde Nast(Eng)
- Hachette Filipacchi(Eng)
- Independent Media(Eng)
- The Moscow Times(Eng)
Russian media links:
- class="blu2">Pravda(Rus)
- Argumenty i Fakty(Rus)
- Vedomostiv(Rus)
- SMI(Rus)
- Strana.ru(Rus & Eng)
Itogi(Rus)
- Komsomolskaya Pravda(Rus)
- NTV(Rus)
- TV-6(Rus)
- AllNews.ru (Eng)
- NetMedia.ru(Eng)
- Federal News Service, Moscow(Eng)
Media institutions in Russia:
- Foundation for Independent Radio Broadcasting(Eng)
- National Press Institute(Rus)
- International Press Club(Rus & Eng)
The Russia Journal weekly links:
Commentary:
- Editorial: Media wars are healthy(24 Feb, 2001)
- Reflecting on Russia’s press (13 Apr, 2001)
- Freedom to buy and sell the press (17 Feb, 2001)
- We’re going to lose press freedom’ here(09 Dec, 2000)
- Is this the current view of freedom of the press?(07 Oct, 2000)
- Street Poll: Should the government control or influence the mass media?(30 Aug, 2000)
Foreign media in Russia:
- Independent Media to lose key shareholder (27 Jan, 2001)
- Trouble in the harem: No longer a Dutch treat(13 Jan, 2001)
- Moscow Times article: No more crocodile tears for the Times(14 Feb, 2001)
New media law coverage:
- Duma OKs limitations on foreign ownership of media (27 Apr, 2001)
- Editorial: A new media law(20 Apr, 2001)
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NTV coverage:
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- NTV special report
- Spotlight: The next media target for Boris Jordan? (20 Apr, 2001)
- RJ street Poll: Would you prefer NTV to be under government or foreign control? 2001-04-13(13 Apr, 2001)
- Foreign investors seen as making NTV less critical 2001-02-03(03 Feb, 2001)
- Even foreigners’ money won’t save NTV this time (03 Feb, 2001)
Special report / Media watch:
- Russian media - special report
- Media watch: NTV takes center stage as final episode unfolds(06 Apr, 2001)
- Media watch: New generation of oligarchs prepared to stake its claims(18 Nov, 2000)
- Media watch: Polishing the president’s image, but not for print(28 Oct, 2000)
- Media watch: ORT’s figurehead managers - who can you really trust?(23 Sep, 2000)
Over recent months, government-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom has taken over most major outlets of the once-independent media holding Media-Most, in what critics say was a Kremlin-orchestrated attempt to silence the media's criticism of President Vladimir Putin.
One of the last fragments of Media-Most - the respected, news-oriented Echo of Moscow radio - has been trying to preserve its independence. Then last week, the Moscow City Court handed Gazprom a controlling interest in the station, based on Media-Most's debts to the gas company.
One of Putin's top aides, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, insisted Tuesday that the administration wants to see Echo of Moscow remain independent.
"The state is in no way interested in any way of turning Echo of Moscow into a state-run radio station," Yastrzhembsky said in an interview on Echo of Moscow. "This is the position of the president, which I am voicing on his instructions."
Putin has often stated that he supports press freedom and that the problems of Media-Most and its founder tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky are purely financial.
Echo of Moscow is still in talks with Gazprom about buying back a 9 percent stake, a move that would cut down the gas company's share in the broadcaster to below a controlling interest.
The head of Gazprom's media arm Alfred Kokh said his company is still willing to sell, and accused Echo of Moscow staff of raising unnecessary "noise and scandal" about their plight, according to an interview published Tuesday in Moskovskiye Novosti weekly.
Earlier story
10 July, 2001
Interpol rejects Moscow's requests for help in arresting Gusinsky
MOSCOW (AP) - The international police agency Interpol has rejected Russia's request for help in arresting media tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky, saying the case was politically motivated, officials said Monday.
The decision appeared to endorse claims by Gusinsky and many journalists that the fraud case against Gusinsky was punishment for his media's criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"This is very important for us," said Yelena Visens, a spokeswoman for Gusinsky's media holding Media-Most.
Gusinsky has been living abroad in recent months, and a Spanish court in April rejected Moscow's demands to extradite him. The court said the grounds for Russia's case against Gusinsky would not amount to a crime in Spain - a key criterion for extradition decisions.
Russian authorities also appealed to Interpol to help arrest Gusinsky.
But Interpol refused to register the case, special officer Zhinjin Zuo said Monday from Interpol headquarters in France.
Media-Most released a letter Monday written on behalf of Interpol Secretary-General Ronald Noble to Gusinsky's lawyers.
"I consider that the case has a predominantly political character and falls within the scope of Article 3 of Interpol's Constitution under which 'it is strictly forbidden for the organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character," the letter said.
After more than a year of legal troubles, Media-Most has largely crumbled and its main holdings have been taken over by government-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom. Once-scathing criticism of Putin by the outlets has diminished under new management, though Putin insists he supports media freedom and had nothing to do with the case against Gusinsky.
Gazprom insists its takeovers were motivated by the Media-Most's debts. The gas company changed the leadership of Media-Most's NTV network, replaced the editorial staff of news magazine Itogi, and closed the newspaper Segodnya.
Last week, a court also handed Gazprom a controlling interest in Media-Most's last major outpost, Echo of Moscow radio station. The respected news radio station said it was still in talks with Gazprom to buy back some of its shares - a move that would allow it to preserve editorial freedom.
In recent weeks, Echo of Moscow has been forced to cut back its news broadcasts from every 15 minutes to every 30 minutes because some broadcasters resigned amid the "obvious pressure" on the station and the dimming chances of remaining independent, its deputy chief editor Vladimir Varfolomeyev said Monday, according to the Interfax news agency.