Saturday, April 21, 2007

Over 50% Good News, no mention of administration opponents, administration enemies must be clearly labeled enemies


No, not Clear Channel but the Russian equivalent. The new owners of a Russian radio media company with ties to the Kremlin have issued their news format orders.
At their first meeting with journalists since taking over Russia’s largest independent radio news network, the managers had startling news of their own: from now on, they said, at least 50 percent of the reports about Russia must be “positive.”

In addition, opposition leaders could not be mentioned on the air and the United States was to be portrayed as an enemy, journalists employed by the network, Russian News Service, say they were told by the new managers, who are allies of the Kremlin.

How would they know what constituted positive news?

“When we talk of death, violence or poverty, for example, this is not positive,” said one editor at the station who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution. “If the stock market is up, that is positive. The weather can also be positive.”
Link from America's own most important conservative news source - Drudge.

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