RUSSIA: JOURNALISTS AT RUSSIA'S TV-6 REMAIN DEFIANT DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE STATION HAS BEEN TAKEN OFF AIR
Record ID:
647033
RUSSIA: JOURNALISTS AT RUSSIA'S TV-6 REMAIN DEFIANT DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE STATION HAS BEEN TAKEN OFF AIR
- Title: RUSSIA: JOURNALISTS AT RUSSIA'S TV-6 REMAIN DEFIANT DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE STATION HAS BEEN TAKEN OFF AIR
- Date: 22nd January 2002
- Summary: (W4) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JANUARY 22, 2002) (REUTERS- ACCESS ALL) 1. SLV EXTERIORS OF OSTANKINO TV COMPLEX 0.07 2. SV FLAGS 0.13 3. SV/CU/SLV INTERIORS OF TV-6 STATION/ EMPTY STUDIOS (4 SHOTS) 0.37 4. MCU (Russian) TV-6 MORNING NEWS ANCHOR ALEXEI VOROBYOV SAYING: "Yes, there was light in the windows and the police was letting people in. But all the studios were out of electricity. We understood that that was somehow linked to the court rule but what we could not understand was why we ended up in complete information blockade." 1.01 5. SV TV MONITORS SWITCHED OFF/ CLOCK RUNNING 1.05 6. SLV FEW EMPLOYEES IN TV-6 CORRIDORS 1.13 7. SLV PEOPLE IN STREET 1.19 8. MCU (Russian) PENSIONER NINA NIKOLAYEVNA SAYING: "My attitude to the closure is negative. I think that TV-6 should remain on air and with the same team." 1.28 9. MCU (Russian) ALEXANDER SAYING: "They [authorities] shouldn't have done that. But I personally don't like TV-6." 1.33 10. SV EXTERIOR OF INTERFAX 1.40 11. SLV/SV MIKHAIL LESIN, MINISTER OF INFORMATION GIVES NEWS CONFERENCE/MEDIA (2 SHOTS) 1.53 12. MCU (Russian) MIKHAIL LESIN, MINISTER OF INFORMATION SAYING: "We decided last night to abide by the decision of court bailiffs and cease the broadcast of TV-6, following that decision. And meanwhile the frequency is given to NTV Plus Sport channel." 2.19 13. SV MEDIA 2.24 14. SLV JOURNALISTS INSIDE OSTANKINO TV COMPLEX 2.31 15. MCU (Russian) GEORGY KRICHEVSKY, NEWS EDITOR SAYING: "We will look for new ways of broadcasting, maybe through the internet, or satellite or radio and newspaper. The most important thing now is for our journalists, and editors to have a chance to keep their jobs and their profession." 2.48 16. SV JOURNALISTS NEAR TV-6 ENTRANCE (2 SHOTS) 3.01 17. SV GENERAL DIRECTOR YEVGENY KISELYOV WALKING PAST CROWD OF JOURNALISTS 3.08 18. MCU (English) YEVGENY KISELYOV SAYING " Last remaining independent TV channel. And this tells us the direction where all of us are going. I will tell you more. Many of the Western leaders that are displaying such big love for Mr. Putin and support him as a democratic leader, he is responsible for the closure of TV-6- the last remaining National Independent Company and they are responsible for the future of democracy in Russia. 3.55 19. SV KISELYOV LEAVING 4.02 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 6th February 2002 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Reuters ID: LVA1LP85QO5S8XV6XRPBTZYU8DJ9
- Story Text: Journalists at Russia's TV-6 remain defiant despite
the fact that the station has been taken off air. On the
streets of Moscow people condemned the decision to shut it
down, saying they liked its news and other programming.
TV-6, the only television station outside Kremlin control,
was shut down in the early hours of Tuesday morning after
court bailiffs ordered Russia's Media Ministry to revoke the
station's licence.
The Russian government abruptly pulled the plug on
Tuesday (January 22) on TV-6, acting on a court order.
Moscow has said the station's fate is purely a business
matter, but it has raised international concern over both
President Vladimir Putin's tolerance of dissent and the
independence of the courts, which Washington said seemed to
have acted on political orders.
"We decided last night to abide by the decision of court
bailiffs and cease the broadcast of TV-6, following the
decision to revoke its licence. And meanwhile the frequency is
given to NTV Plus Sport channel", Mikhail Lesin, the Minister
of Information and Media told a news conference.
Power was shut off at the studio and the station's
telephones and internet link were cut.
Journalists who turned up at the station's offices to
prepare for breakfast news bulletins found that all their
power and communications links had been turned off.
But he said that the station's journalists were carrying
on with their job of news gathering.
"We are all here and we are carrying on with planning for
the bulletins and covering stories as we normally do," said
morning news anchor Alexei Vorobyov.
Editor in Chief Georgy Krichevsky told journalists before
the staff meeting at Ostankino that TV-6 journalists were
looking for other means of broadcasting.
"Maybe through internet, or satellite or radio and
newspaper. The most important thing now is for our
journalists, and editors to be able to keep their jobs and
their profession."
TV6 was a second-tier station until last year, when
trail-blazing independent broadcaster NTV was taken over by
Gazprom, the Kremlin-controlled natural gas monopoly in a
boardroom coup.
At that time TV6's owner, the millionaire former Kremlin
insider Boris Berezovsky, invited NTV's staff to join his
station and keep many of their programmes on the air.
By pulling the plug on TV6, Russian authorities have
silenced one of the few broadcasters that criticised Russian
military tactics in Chechnya and drew attention to corruption
scandals in the Kremlin.
President Vladimir Putin has said the state played no role
in TV6's troubles and would not interfere with court
decisions.
But TV-6 General Director Yevgeny Kiselyov has TV-6 blamed
President Putin for the closure of the last remaining
Independent Television Company and questioned the future of
democracy in Russia.
Although the Kremlin maintains it had nothing to do with
the actions against NTV and TV6, Putin did not hide the fact
that he despised Berezovsky and former NTV owner Vladimir
Gusinsky and believed they had abused the power of their media
holdings.
In both companies, huge oil and gas firms with ties to the
state acquired minority stakes and went to court to wrest
management control from the businessmen.
In TV6's case, a pension fund for Russia's biggest oil
company LUKoil held a minority stake and won a court case to
close the station, saying it was bankrupt.
TV6 said its new staff of NTV veterans had brought popular
new programming that had turned its finances around. One show,
Russia's first Big Brother-like reality programme "Behind the
Glass" became a nationwide hit.
Itogi, Kiselyov's weekly Sunday evening political analysis
show, once NTV's flagship, remained highly influential on TV6.
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