I have met several people in the former Soviet Union who listened to Radio Liberty when it was something dangerous and subversive. I asked one person, "But did you believe it? Without knowing what was happening outside the Soviet Union, didn't you worry it was just propaganda from our side?" Absolutely not, he said, he believed it.Unlike Voice of America, which exists to promote U.S. culture and values to the world, RFE/RL’s mandate is “surrogate broadcasting” — the provision of objective journalism, diverse commentary and open political debate to societies whose local media, because of censorship or state pressure, cannot provide it.For decades during the Cold War, the radios did this job superbly, attracting an audience throughout the Soviet Bloc and becoming the go-to medium in times of crisis. Since 1991, however, they have been subjected to serial attempts to revamp their programming, supposedly to accommodate a post-Cold War or post-Internet era. The idea, often peddled by board members and executives drawn from the entertainment industry, is that the audience needs to be broadened, radio downplayed in favor of digital offerings and ratings boosted. Hard-core journalism and political discussions should be leavened with lifestyle features, cultural offerings — or maybe just pop music.The problem with this, as Radio Liberty is finding in Moscow, is that Russians — like Iranians or Belarusans — don’t need or want another Internet site pushing a mix of fluff and social commentary. They crave what’s missing on state media — serious journalism that offers a clear picture of what is happening in the Kremlin, the economy and the regions, and a forum for uncensored debates by Russians on those issues. Sure, the audience is often a small elite. But when political crisis comes to Moscow, as it did in late 2011 and surely will again, Russians will flock to the service, if they believe it to be credible.
That's still hard for me to understand. Maybe people trust the news when they hear in it dissenting views, tolerance, and room for uncertainty. They say people have an inborn bullshit detector.
Anyway, the point is that people in Russia especially don't hear very much other than the state media line. Russian news on the Internet is alive and kicking... but also full of deliberate disinformation, stupid ads, aggressive forum trawlers, and vulgarity. There is a niche for RFE/RL in Russia.
Meanwhile, Russia Today (RT) channel is spreading the Kremlin's worldview in English all over the globe via satellite and the web. And our answer is... CNN? FOX?
By Jackson Diehl
February 4, 2013 | Washington Post
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