On the Media: Myth and reality in Russian journalism

From the Frontline Club
On the Media: Myth and reality in Russian journalism
16, September 2009

Please note the date of this event has now been changed to 16 September

Panel: Oleg Panfilov, director of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations

Manana Aslamazyan,a media and television expert who has worked with Russian journalists for more than 15 years and is executive director of Internews Europe based in Paris

Moderator: Geoff Meade, Sky News defence correspondent and former Moscow correspondent

What is the reality for journalists working in Russia? The closure of a series of television stations and other outlets by Vladimir Putin during his presidency has been interpreted as a move to centralise the state and reassert its authority over the flow of information.

With the majority of the oligarch owners of broadcast media firmly behind the government, Putin's image was carefully constructed and maintained.

With Dmitry Medvedev now president, the government has continued the use of 'black PR’ tactics to attack and discredit opponents.

What is the role of the independent journalists in a system which continues in the tradition of promoting the cult of the leader?

Anna Politskaya who was shot dead in 2006 was one of 21 journalists Reporters Without Borders claims has been killed since March 2000. What impact has this had on Russia's journalists?

Join us for a discussion with eminent Russian media experts that will examine the reality of the Russian media and the possibilities for genuinely investigative and critical journalism.