General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat is Sputnik News?
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Alexander Podrabinek, a Russian journalist who works for Radio France Internationale[6][7] (a French public radio service that operates under the auspices and primary budget of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty[8] (a 501(c)(3) corporation that receives U.S. government funding and is supervised by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a nonprofit agency overseeing all U.S. federal government international broadcasting services), has called Sputnik a tool of Russian state propaganda distribution abroad,[5] and has likened it to a pro-Putin version of the Daily Mail and described it as "anti-Western".[9]
Wikipedia link
So any time a real-life friend points you to a Sputnik "news" story, just bear in mind that it's effectively a Kremlin press release.
BTW it's quite curious that the "About Us" page on Sputnik "News" itself does not mention that it is Russian-government controlled:
http://sputniknews.com/docs/about/index.html
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)OxQQme
(2,550 posts)hfojvt
(37,573 posts)Is Russia then, really no different than the UK?
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)Do all of the countries exert some kind of press control? Yes.
Does Russia? Yes, and much more than most other countries.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)These are not run by their respective governments, unlike Sputnik.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)I beg to differ.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)This should be interesting.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)You may very well find it "interesting".
kwassa
(23,340 posts)You haven't, so your assertion is worthless.
Duckhunter935
(16,974 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)And say whatever they want about them!
Duckhunter935
(16,974 posts)lets see Putin's RT and Sputnik do that,
Duckhunter935
(16,974 posts)and you know it
tabasco
(22,974 posts)But thanks for playing.
moondust
(20,006 posts)state-owned Russian media have a fairly recent history of serving as propaganda channels for a totalitarian regime, and their current cult leader President was in fact a secret agent in the service of that regime who has himself been accused of behaviors characteristic of totalitarian regimes including political murders and expansionism by force.
betterdemsonly
(1,967 posts)so you shoiuld be an expert on totalitarian control.
moondust
(20,006 posts)I say if Russia or anybody else is going to do a land grab to steal part of some other country it automatically becomes their responsibility to provide utilities, infrastructure, and other services to that region. Nobody should expect the victim of the land grab to continue providing anything to the stolen region.
You'd better ask Pooty for a shot of vodka.
Duckhunter935
(16,974 posts)Russia is in occupation and needs to support the occupied people. The contract to Crimea for electricity expired and Ukraine decided to make Russia fully responsible.
leveymg
(36,418 posts)It's a regional wire service type news aggregator and content provider, in some ways akin to NPR, that reports a wide variety of events with a focus primarily in Russian Federation/Eastern Europe. It has a large audience in that region.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)Take everything it says in that light.
leveymg
(36,418 posts)There was a major rightward lurch in content with apparent biases prevalent after the GOP cut appropriations to the PBS/NPR budget and they had to begin relying on big "supporters", such as the Petroleum Institute for funding. I actually used to enjoy public broadcasting and news back in the days when it was more independent of commercial influence.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)NPR is not owned by the US government.
betterdemsonly
(1,967 posts)Why is it so damn right wing?
kwassa
(23,340 posts)In 2010, NPR revenues totaled $180 million, with the bulk of revenues coming from programming fees, grants from foundations or business entities, contributions and sponsorships.[20] According to the 2009 financial statement, about 50% of NPR revenues come from the fees it charges member stations for programming and distribution charges.[20] Typically, NPR member stations receive funds through on-air pledge drives, corporate underwriting, state and local governments, educational institutions, and the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). In 2009, member stations derived 6% of their revenue from federal, state and local government funding, 10% of their revenue from CPB grants, and 14% of their revenue from universities.[20][32] While NPR does not receive any direct federal funding, it does receive a small number of competitive grants from CPB and federal agencies like the Department of Education and the Department of Commerce. This funding amounts to approximately 2% of NPR's overall revenues.[20]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPR
leveymg
(36,418 posts)Wait for it,
GGJohn
(9,951 posts)a govt propaganda arm to disseminate the govt point of view.
betterdemsonly
(1,967 posts)media of the West, which only feature neocons and neoliberals These are both conservative philosophies. I frankly enjoy them more than any of the stupid corporate propagandists here in the United States, or the other English speaking countries. I won't stop listening to them. They also cover other things besides Trump, shopping, car crashes, and pop psychology. I don't see them as any different from the bbc, or cbc except they are less neocon. Al Jazeera is much more enjoyable to those who like serious debate and news, than the corporatists too.
betterdemsonly
(1,967 posts)and Wall Street and it shows. Anyone who disagreed with the Iraq war and other military conflicts is persona non grata in the American media. Anyone who doesn't agree with privatization of schools and social security or is a critic of free trade, might as well not exist as far as the major news networks are concerned. Climate change and poverty are ignored in favor of grotesque personalities like Trump and ambulance chaser stories, not to mention stories designed to sell products. Important issues are rarely covered in favor of bullshit. Fox news is owned by a right winger who promotes international austerity, in every country he own a press, yet you don't notice. There is not a complete blackout of the Bernie Sanders campaign on Sputnik like there is in the American media. I am guessing most here would enjoy sputnik much more than the bullshit in cnn, fox and now msnbc. There is no objectivity and the American media is the shittiest in the world.
ronnie624
(5,764 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)I myself find it highly entertaining on occasion.
MADem
(135,425 posts)It's the All Putin, All The Time Media!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vladimir-putin-russia-news-media_56215944e4b0bce34700b1df
steve2470
(37,457 posts)Putin admits Russian military presence in Ukraine for first time
Russia has repeatedly denied a military presence in the conflict, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. But the Russian president conceded there were military intelligence officers operating in the country in a marathon press conference on Thursday.
Asked by a Ukrainian reporter an hour into the briefing about two Russian military intelligence officers captured by Kiev and currently on trial in Ukraine, Putin said: We never said there were not people there who carried out certain tasks including in the military sphere. He insisted this was not the same as regular Russian troops.
There was no opportunity for a follow-up question to examine how many military specialists Putin believes were in Ukraine and what exact tasks they were carrying out. At key moments in the conflict in east Ukraine there has been much evidence of regular Russian army involvement.
This effectively puts the kibosh on a few very pro-Putin posters we have here.
Duckhunter935
(16,974 posts)After denying his troops were in Crimea (outside their bases) for a year he finally admitted his troops helped in the storming of the navel ships and Ukrainian bases.
steve2470
(37,457 posts)Tarheel_Dem
(31,241 posts)They're spoon-fed by the Kremlin, they're told who their enemies are, and they like it. Unlike the Putin pushers here, who demand openness & transparency from western governments, they seem to hold Putin to a much different standard. And then there's the fake analogies re: corporate media & media outlets "wholly" owned and operated by the State. It's like comparing apples to a flat tire. Newsflash: there is no comparison.