Surprise post-script from Russia Today presenter

Wonder what will happen to Russia Today presenter Abby Martin. If they are clever in Moscow, nothing at all. After all, can you imagine if the tables were turned and a presenter on US government network had a similar postscript?  

Voice of Russia to be Liquidated

Russia Today news agency to get all RIA Novosti and Voice of Russia funding

It didn't take long for the Putin's government to wind up the old RIA Novosti New Agency and the Voice of Russia radio network (what was once called Radio Moscow World Service). The budget of 83 million dollars has been transferred to the newly created news agency called Russia Today. BBC Monitoring in Caversham caught this official announcement below this afternoon.  Russia's newly-created state news agency Rossiya Segodnya [Russia Today] will get the funds that were to be allocated by the government to RIA Novosti news agency and Voice of Russia radio, RIA Novosti reported on 10 January quoting amendments to the 2014-2016 budget law published on a government website. RIA Novosti was to get R2.68bn [83m dollars] in 2014. The report said that "the implementation of the amendments will not require the allocation of additional funds and will not change the main characteristics of the federal budget for 2014-2016". RIA Novosti and Voice of Russia will be liquidated. Source: RIA Novosti news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1423 gmt 10 Jan 14 What I find strange is that several hours later there is still no mention of it on the Voice of Russia website. So was it good news or bad news late on a Friday afternoon? The new state agency gets all the money. I wonder if it has the same mandate to use the legacy resources and distribution systems. In other words, is this really the end of external service radio from the Russian capital? Is it a reboot or a swift end? The word "liquidation" sounds sinister (though meaning could be lost in translation). And what of the "other" Russia Today (better known as RT.com). Question More!   Richard Berry on the RadioStudies list in the UK, notes that Russia has quietly switched off nearly all of its long-wave transmitters, ending almost nine decades of broadcasting - as cost finally catches up on the medium. At 1am on 9 January 2014, state-run Radio Rossii wound up its broadcast as usual with the national anthem. There was no mention that long-wave transmissions were coming to an end, and the following day listeners found they had to rely on local FM broadcasts and the internet to hear the station. The only state radio station with truly national coverage, Radio Rossii can be compared to BBC Radio 4 with its mix of news, drama and educational programmes. Long-wave suited Russian broadcasters because a single transmitter could reach a wide area at all times of day and night. But they are expensive, and as most listeners have begun listening on FM, or through cable, satellite and the internet, the authorities decided to bring the service to an end.. Long-wave radio played a role in the Cold War, with the United States building a powerful transmitter near Munich and broadcasting its Russian service on the same frequency as Moscow's programmes. Listeners in parts of the Soviet Union found state radio drowned out by the Voice of America . Now only one LW transmitter remains in the country, broadcasting Radio Kavkaz to the North Caucasus region on a limited schedule. The BBC says that although it is planning to end its use of long-wave radio at some time in the future, there is no specific date for the closure of its Radio 4 transmissions on 198 kHz, much loved by listeners of the shipping forecast and Test Match Special. All this talk about liquidation didn't stop Vasily Strelnikov (former Media Network contributor) as well as host on Radio Moscow World Service and Voice of Russia sending a 2014 greeting from his dacha west of Moscow.

We live in a mixed up world

Never thought I would sit down in the UK, switch on Freeview and end up watching Larry King Now chatting with actors from Anchorman 2 on Russia Today out of Moscow.

What keeps societies apart

This Russia Today documentary is an interesting outside looking in perspective. Life in the West of Amsterdam is indeed another world and I fear the focus is on what divides people rather than what brings them together. 

RT and VOA TV to Africa - Switched at Birth?

This is bizarre.
Watching the Voice of America YouTube channel to Africa and comparing it with Russia Today. It is like they were switched at birth.

Lynton

VOA looks like broom cupboard TV where radio presenters finally get to be TV personalities. The set design must have come from the 1960's. I've never seen so many "bugs" in the picture to remind you you're watching VOA. Presenters don't realize there is something called a lower third. And the general look and feel is rather like Radio Moscow World Service sounded like in the 1980's. Scripted ad-libs. And a sports presenter holding a ball (in lieu of sports footage?). And the total number of viewers for this week's show was 11.

As you may gather, I'm not a fan..

Was this one of the reasons that prompted Michael Lynton to resign from the US Broadcasting Board of Governors this week, leaving the same day he sent a letter to President Obama? This follows the rather sudden departure of the previous chairman Walter Isaacson (the Steve Jobs biographer).

Yes, we know we're watching VOA. What awful graphics. Did they make them in house with Photoshop?

Must be sports...

RT understand screen real estate like no other.

VOA is still huge. US$ 205 million budget. 1209 employees.

Meanwhile in Moscow, Russia RT certainly has a look and feel that looks more like Al Jazeera, Fox News and CNN rolled into one...in other words they have taken elements of each and made something of it. They certainly know how to market their content through YouTube, Vod.io,...it's everywhere where the VOA is not. How much are the Russian's spending on RT? $355.6 million in 2013 apparently.