In Moscow, protest over state’s grip on media

More than 1,000 demonstrators rallied in Moscow on Sunday to protest government efforts to tighten controls over national media. The protest in central Moscow was linked to the fifth anniversary of the takeover of the NTV television station by the state-controlled company Gazprom in what was widely viewed as a Kremlin-orchestrated move to stifle criticism of the government. Several prominent television anchors, who lost their jobs amid the authorities’ efforts to tighten control over programming, took part in the rally. Since President Vladimir Putin’s first election in 2000, all nationwide networks have come under tight state control, resulting in blanket positive coverage of government activities and the disappearance of critical reporting. While print media enjoy considerably more freedom compared with broadcasters, top national newspapers are also under pressure of owners who fear that critical reports could jeopardise their business interests. The purchase of NTV by Gazprom was followed by the departure of many of its leading journalists and a dramatic muting of its famously critical coverage, particularly of the war in Chechnya. Gazprom in June bought Izvestiya, one of the country’s most respected newspapers, pushing the state’s control of the media into the print press. (AFP, AP, International Herald Tribune,April 18, 2006)

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