A Tough Neighborhood For Independent Media - Updated

Michael Hedges March 2, 2022 - Follow on Twitter

Independence can be a tricky concept for media outlets. As every banker - and politician - knows there is always somebody calling the tune, so to speak. A slew of corruption fighting investigative reporting groups have come into prominence in the last decade for uncovering, as best they can, who gets paid to what end. Corruption can slam into press freedom and, clearly, the very notion of media independence.

This week Russian radio channel Ekho Moskvy was taken off the airwaves. Its website and that of video news portal TV Dozhd were also blanked out on orders from the Prosecutor General for “deliberately (publishing) false information about the actions of the Russian military as part of a special operation to protect the (separatist regions) DPR and LPR,” quoted by independent Russian exile news portal Meduza (March 1). There was no advance warning. “We believe that we did not violate anything, we do not see any traces of violations,” said chief editor Alexei Venediktov to Interfax (March 1).

Ekho Moskvy - known as Echo of Moscow in English - is (was) primarily a news and information radio outlet broadcasting in many major Russian cities and bordering countries. Deputy director Maxim Kurnikov said the station remains “audible” in some cities, reported Le Monde (March 1). Quite symbolically, Ekho Moskvy launched in 1990 as the Soviet Union was flying apart. Foreign owners were welcomed, mostly to revive the moribund state broadcast sector. Those new investors included Lagardère Active Radio International (LARI), subsidiary of the French company, and US-based Metromedia International.

Gazprom Media Radio, subsidiary of Gazprombank, owns a two-thirds stake (66%) in Ekho Moskvy, employees holding the remaining one-third with covenants for editorial independence. That shareholding is effectively controlled by chief editor, an elected position, Alexei Venediktov. He is known both for being a defender of the channel’s editorial independence and a shrewd political operator.

While Western news reports on the scuttling of Ekho Moskvy describe the station as “liberal,” Reuters (March 1), it is better seen as skeptical with a Russian voice. The journalism has been fearless and the talkshows filled with a wide variety of voices. Mr. Venediktov once described himself as “conservative” with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as his “ideals in politics.”

The Ekho Moskvy YouTube channel was “disabled” by Google, reported St. Petersburg media news portal Lenizdat (March 2), due to its relationship with Gazprom Media. Several countries have placed sanctions on Russian energy producer Gazprom, including key executives, since the Russian military invasion of Ukraine leading companies and investors to break ties. "On the one hand, we are punished by the American Google, on the other hand, by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office,” said Mr. Venediktov, who also indicated the Ekho Moskvy editorial office would challenge the Prosecutor General decision in court.

A meeting of the Ekho Moskvy joint stock company board is being convened by Gazprom Media, reported Interfax (March 2), to “make decisions in accordance with the order of the Prosecutor General's Office regarding the activities of the radio station.” Russian media watchers suspect this could be the end of Mr. Venediktov. A date for that board meeting has not been released. Last week long-serving Russian media executive Yuri Kostin was replaced as general director of Gazprom Media Radio.

Government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov revealed that president Vladimir V. Putin had been informed of the Prosecutor General’s action. “Of course, the president is aware of such decision,” quoted by news portal Lenta (March 2). He demurred when asked about that decision saying only “It will be seen later.”

Update: The Ekho Moskvy joint stock company board meeting was convened early Thursday morning and the result, announced by the Gazprom Media press office, was unsurprising. The broadcaster is to be liquidated. "The decision to liquidate was made in just 15 minutes in my absence, I was not even invited to the meeting,” said Ekho Moskvy chief editor Alexei Venediktov, quoted by Interfax (March 3).

“We do not know what liquidation is,” he continued. “We understand that broadcasting and access to the site will not be restored.” He suggested that the channel’s closure was not demanded by the Prosecutor General's Office. "There are minority shareholders who own a 34% stake in Ekho Moskvy joint stock company, by the way, a blocking stake. They are actually deprived of their property. We will meet with the shareholders and decide what to do with it.”

See also...

• Hot Topics - Media in the Russian Federation

• Hot Topics - Corruption