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For those affected with outrage deficiency syndrome TV talk shows are the drug of choice. Show hosts and their producers have learned the secrets of ginning up the hate for big ratings. These shows are fixtures all over the world. Well, probably not in Finland.
One of the more notorious TV howlers is Vladimir Solovyov, host of a regular evening hate-fest on Russian state channel Rossia 1. “Today is the day that a righteous operation was launched,” he opined on his complimentary YouTube channel as the Russian military incursion into Ukraine commenced. “President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin very clearly described the nature of the problem and why it was necessary to take action, why we acknowledged the Donetsk and Luhansk republics, and why we had no choice but to coerce Ukraine into peace,” he said, echoing Russian state talking points. (See more about media in the Russian Federation here)
European Union (EU) sanctions against wealthy Russian politically exposed individuals, once considered rather toothless, have begun to bite. Mr. Solovyov is on the no-fly, no-asset list, which he railed about last week on his TV show. His two Lake Como villas, total value roughly €8 million, were in authorities’ sights. "I bought them, I paid a crazy amount of taxes, I did everything.” Other Russian media stars recently sanctioned by the EU include Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, RT (Russia Today) chief Margarita Simonyan and regular state TV Channel One host Pyotr Tolstoy. (See more about propaganda here)
On Friday, reported La Repubblica (March 5), Italian financial police (Guardia di Finanza) padlocked the properties. Earlier in the week, the Financial Security Committee of the Italian Ministry of Economy authorized the seizures, including a Sardinia villa owned by billionaire Alisher Usmanov. “I don't know anything about it,” said Mr. Solovyov. “If this is true, lawyers will deal with the issue.”
The villa near Menaggio has “a splendid view of the lake,” said mayor Michele Spaggiari. “To tell the truth we had never heard of him before. When he is here he stays closed in the villa and has no contact with anyone “
“It is sickening that he seems more concerned for his holiday homes, than for the people of Ukraine who are dying while trying to defend their country,” said one “near-neighbor” to UK tabloid MailOnLine (March 4). “It will be a case of good riddance if he does not return. Why can’t he spend more time enjoying the delights of Moscow if he loves it so much?”
Listeners and viewers were held rapt by broadcast channels in an earlier era. There were fewer channels, arguably less choice but certainly stronger brands. Using big power transmitters and tall towers, broadcaster channels reached far and farther. Listeners and viewers were impressed, in awe. Today’s media experts, almost universally, dismiss all that for the ubiquity of digital and mobile channels. And the public is far less interested.
Military forces of the Russian Federation this past week (March 1) blasted the Kyiv, Ukraine radio and TV tower. Artillery rockets were fired, exploded but the 385 meter (1,263 foot) steel pipe tower mostly held its own. Five people were killed in the barrage, including a photojournalist. Built in 1973 it was the world’s tallest free-standing structure until 2012 and its presence felt across the city under siege. Several radio and TV channels were knocked off the air as transmitters were located just above the tower’s base. Most have now been restored. (See more on media in Ukraine here)
The attack on the Kyiv TV Tower was strikingly similar to the January 13, 1991 attack by Soviet troops and tanks on the Vilnius, Lithuania TV tower. Those troops had moved into Vilnius several days earlier to suppress supporters of independence, who moved that night to the TV tower site, a visible icon of the newly independent Lithuanian media. By early morning it was known that 14 Lithuanians had been killed, some run over by the Soviet tanks, and scores injured. Later that day, 50,000 people gathered in protest. Today in Lithuania, January 13 is commemorated as the Day of Defenders of Freedom.
The Russian attack on the Kyiv radio and TV tower “appears to be an attempt to prevent Ukrainian citizens — men, women and children — having access to critical news and information at a time when their lives are in mortal danger,” said Association for International Broadcasting chief executive Simon Spanswick to Voice of America (VOA) (March 2). The day after the Kyiv tower attack, Russian troops and artillery similarly attacked broadcast towers in Kharkiv and then Lysychansk, in the Luhansk region, and the Korosten TV tower.
Telecom giant Altice, once known as SFR, has agreed to acquire French TV channels 6ter and TFX, reported Le Monde (February 28). The prospective transaction is the first of, perhaps, several spinoffs ahead of the big TF1/Groupe M6 merger. French regulators have tentatively approved that merger pending the exit of a few TV stations.
M6 has operated family-oriented free-to-air digital TV channel 6ter, - pronounced “sister” - since 2012. TFX, once branded as NT1, has been operated by TF1 since 2005 as a digital general entertainment channel targeting young adults. Altice Media, the French broadcast subsidiary, will operate the two TV channels along with BFM TV and radio channel RMC with several brand extensions. (See more about mergers and acquisitions here)
French ownership rules limit a company to seven TV channels. There are ten between TF1 and M6, considering that deal. Current concessions for 6ter and TFX allow considerable latitude in programming dimensions. Others considered likely to be sold include TF1 Séries Films and children’s channel Gulli. (See more about media in France here)
But, M6 Groupe is considering axing the Paris Premiere channel, simply returning the concession. Then, too, there’s warmth within TF1/M6 for Gulli as a platform for animation. Regulators could, if grumpy, force the sale of other channels to lower the aggregate market share. French media watchers suspect other prospective buyers might appear if higher rated channels would be offered.
Geopolitics often determine differences in news coverage. Western news media, almost entirely, covers the invasion of Ukraine as human and political tragedy brought about by Russian Federation leaders. Nuance is there, certainly, but the reporting stream has remained consistent. Sharp contrast is in view where borders remain brittle.
An analysis of recent news coverage, contrasting the two regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was published this week (March 2) by Mediacentar Sarajevo. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS) were created in the aftermath of the Bosnian War late last century. The FBiH population consists mostly of ethnic Bosniaks and Croats. Ethnic Serbs make up the majority of the population in RS. The two regions try to get along, except when they don’t.
“The media from the Republika Srpska (RS) most often use euphemisms when it comes to determining the character of the war in Ukraine, following the (language) set by Russian officials,” said the Mediacentar Sarajevo report. “On the other hand, it is noticeable that the media from the Federation of BiH (FBiH) mostly use terms such as aggression and invasion when (reporting) the character of the conflict in Ukraine, mostly following the (language) present in Western public opinion.” (See more about media in the Western Balkans here)
“Although reporting on the same events, depending on where they come from, the media mostly emphasize different aspects of the war in Ukraine. The media in RS, specifically (state broadcaster) RTRS and (newspaper) Glas Srpske, more often put the Russian side in a positive context, while the media from the FBiH put the Russian side in a negative context. The FBiH media focused more on civilian casualties than the RS media, with the exception of Nezavisne novine, which focused on analysis, except at the narrative level when setting the date of the conflict, mostly following the narrative matrix as RTRS and Glas Srpske using euphemisms. The FBiH media quoted pejorative terms denoting the Russian side. In general, the RS and FBiH media reported significantly on the conflict in Ukraine following the dominant narrative and ideological matrices in these two discursively divided areas, contributing to the state of latent antagonism in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
In other words, separate news reporting from the two regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Russian invasion of Ukraine mirrors the “antagonism” that has existed for decades.
Just more than four years after the ignominious event the murder trial of the alleged ringleaders almost restarted this week. The Slovakian Supreme Court ordered a lower court to recommence proceedings against Marian Kocner, a politically exposed individual, and Alena Zsuzova for ordering the murders of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnírova. The Specialized Criminal Court ruled the pair, currently serving jail time for unrelated crimes, not guilty in September 2020. An appeal, the Supreme Court ruled a retrial must proceed. (See more about media in Slovakia)
That was scheduled for Monday (February 28). The defendants appeared with their legal team, who objected to the proceeding because a temporary member of the three judge panel, serving for a regular member on medical leave, accepted the plea bargain of one of the hit squad, who testified against the others. They were all convicted. The notoriety of the murders caused the Slovak government to collapse. (See more about press freedom here)
Mr. Kocner’s legal representative then asked for seating a new and different judicial panel. The court dismissed that claim of bias. But Mr. Kocner’s lawyer submitted a complaint against that decision which kicks the case back to the Supreme Court. As seen in other jurisdictions well-connected defendants benefit from clever lawyers. Hence, the trial has been adjourned.
Repercussions continue to roil from the destructive invasion of Ukraine by forces of the Russian Federation. Propaganda purveyors, often shielded by misguided speech freedom advocates, are feeling long awaited blows. Those pop-up fake news sites, typically bot-powered, have scant effect on the general news flow. Well-known brands are attracting unwanted attention.
On Sunday, the European Alliances for News Agencies (EANA) suspended membership of Russian state news agency TASS “pending exclusion decision,” said a statement (February 27). “Under the circumstances of the new media regulation enforced by the Russian government (Roskomnadzor), which is heavily restricting media freedom, the Board of EANA considers that TASS finds itself in violation of the purpose of EANA as it is laid out in the Statutes of the Alliance, not being able to provide unbiased news, which stand at the core of EANA’s mission statement. (See more about news agencies here)
The decision was initiated by Polish Press Agency (PAP) chief executive Wojciech Surmacz. “The Russian agency has in an unprecedented way and on a scale never before seen, disseminated untrue information on the subject of Russia's aggression against Ukraine,” said the letter from Mr. Surmacz. "Solidarity with our friends of the Ukrinform agency and the whole Ukrainian nation is our duty today. Long live a free and independent Ukraine.”
That wasn’t sufficient for certain hackers, possibly linked to the Anonymous activist collective. On Monday morning, visitors to the TASS website - along with websites of Kommersant, Izvestia and St Petersburg news portal Fontanka - found a “tombstone” adorned with the number 5,300 with a message in Russian: “We urge you to stop this madness, do not send your sons and husbands to certain death. Putin makes us lie and puts us in danger. This message will be deleted, and some of us will be fired or even jailed. But we can’t take it anymore.” It was “signed” by “Indifferent journalists of Russia.” The 5,300 is number, widely reported, of Russian military casualties in Ukraine. The special message did, in fact, disappear by mid-day Monday. (See more about media in the Russian Federation here)
Russian media regulator/censor Roskomnadzor, by coincidence (winkie blinkie), sent around a terse warning forbidding “distribution of information about victims among the Russian military and citizens of Ukraine,” reported St Petersburg, Russia news portal Lenizdat (February 28). The possible fine for violations is RUB 5 million, which is worth far less today than yesterday.
Trade shows are back. Perhaps not roaring, but two years of Zoom shows due to Covid-19 precautions has sellers of stuff twitching for a return. With springtime just around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere those sales teams are ready to go. And, it appears, so are prospective buyers.
Mobile World Congress (MWC) gets underway this week in Barcelona, Spain. Mobile anything and everything is always big thing for the media sphere. It’s popular, attracting GenZers by the millions. MWC organizer GSM Association (GSMA) is expecting 50,000 in attendance. Imagine how they will be stumbling into each other while TikToking. Alas, a vaccine certificate is required for admission. (See more about mobile media here)
This year’s hot topics at MWC are not blindingly unique. "It's no longer just mobile operators to mobile operators or me connected to you,” said GSMA director general Mats Granryd to Euronews (February 28). “It is fintech. It's car manufacturers, it's utility companies, it's transport companies. We're unleashing the full power of connectivity, that we can do that now because we have 5G.” Right. Doesn’t 5G cause uncontrollable vomiting?
Of course, manufacturers - some you have never heard of - are flooding the floors with new devices. Battery power is a selling point; recharge in just an instant. Samsung has previewed many, many new phones and laptops, more powerful webcams. Others are keeping secrets, however briefly.
As the present moment encroaches on the future, GSMA “strongly condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine” and has cancelled the Russian Pavillion. "In light of this emerging situation and considering the tragic loss of life, MWC seems immaterial under the circumstances,” said its statement. MWC runs through March 3.
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