Russian region where press freedom is compromised

A fascinating insight into the state of press freedom (lack of) in Russia is provided by Valery Pavlukevich on the Open Democracy site.

He profiles just one region, Samara - in the southeastern part of European Russia beside the Volga - where there are 363 newspapers and more than 60 radio and television stations. Yet despite the quantity, he says, there is little quality because few are truly independent.

He quotes Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the leading opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta, as saying that journalism in Russia has become a form of prostitution.

Nearly all media outlets in Samara are controlled by a single official entity overseen by the regional governor, Nikolai Merkushkin. During his election campaign, the newspaper Volzhskaya Kommuna, which is funded by the regional budget, included six photographs of Merkushkin in each issue.

Private media outlets are also loyal to the governor. One group that publishes five popular newspapers plus a radio and TV broadcaster is owned by the deputy governor.

In September, Sergey Melnik, a journalist on the radio station Lada FM in Tolyatti, was suspended while on air for speaking about the Samara gubernatorial elections.

In addition to such overt censorship, there is censorship behind the scenes. Officials from the governors media relations department have called TV news editors to stop the broadcasting of reports of opposition rallies.

Despite the censorship and pressure from officials, Pavlukevich writes that independent journalists and independent media outlets in Samara do exist. There are two independent newspapers and an online journal, all of which attract many readers.

Andrey Astashkin, a blogger and deputy head of the local cell of the liberal political party Yabloko, is quoted as saying: Today, Samara is a region with no freedom of speech. The internet remains the only space for independent media here.

Source: Open Democracy

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Russian region where press freedom is compromised