DATE=8/24/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA SUB / MEDIA ROLE
NUMBER=5-46907
BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The Kursk nuclear submarine disaster may have
highlighted the dangerous deterioration of Russia's
military machinery. But it has also widened the gap
between the government's reliance on secrecy and
society's push for openness. What role has the
Russian media played? V-O-A Correspondent Laurie
Kassman explores the Russian media's battle for
ratings and responsibility in its coverage of the
Kursk disaster.
TEXT: Most official information about the Kursk
nuclear submarine accident has been confused and
contradictory. Not surprising, says journalist Masha
Lipman of the independent magazine, Itogi. From the
start, she says the government tried to control and
manipulate coverage to protect the military's pride
and to hide its inadequacies.
Only state T-V had access to the accident site and
President Vladimir Putin's stormy session with angry
relatives of the Kursk crew, which was carefully
edited to play down the hostility.
Still, Miss Lipman says the independent media managed
to break through the barriers.
/// LIPMAN ACT ONE ///
The coverage was quite professional, with many
publications. There was reporting, analysis,
opinion, everything. When the authorities would
not give the list of those who were on the
Kursk submarine, one of the Russian papers
procured the list.
/// END ACT ///
Editor Mikhail Berger of the newspaper Segodnya
insists the media's rage over the government's
handling of the disaster was not aimed at President
Vladimir Putin but at what he represents.
/// BERGER ACT ONE ///
It's more than a conflict between Putin and the
media. It's conflict between Soviet style of
relations between power and the people and the
new feeling and new construction of a semi-open
society, which Russia is now.
/// END ACT ///
Media analyst Alexei Pankin is more skeptical about
the motivation and impact of the media coverage. He
calls it the battle between ratings and
responsibility.
/// PANKIN ACT ///
It's like the press is primarily working for
their ratings and I expect that a lot of the
public simply switched off television after
reading the first or hearing that nobody was
rescued.
/// END ACT ///
All the reports and criticism about the inept handling
of the disaster still have not seriously damaged
President Vladimir Putin's popularity.
Journalist Masha Lipman says that has a lot to do with
the public's access to information. She compares the
impact of a mostly state-controlled television that
reaches into the Russian heartland with a handful of
liberal newspapers based in Moscow.
/// LIPMAN ACT TWO ///
We're talking about press runs of most
newspapers of under 100-thousand copies, which
means the impact on public opinion is very
limited. And I think one should not be misled
to think that because the press is so
unanimously bitter, the public also is
/// END ACT ///
Still, some journalists like Mikhail Berger suggest a
feisty media forces Russia's new leaders to react in
ways their predecessors would not contemplate.
/// OPT // BERGER ACT TWO ///
The media now is trying to play a role
representing society and they're trying to force
the government to uncover all secrets connected
with this tragedy.
/// END OPT ACT ///
In 1986, Russian leaders tightly controlled
information and misled the public about the health
risks of the Chernobyl nuclear plant explosion. They
offered no explanations, no apologies.
In an action more commonly seen in Western
democracies, President Putin has publicly accepted
responsibility for the Kursk tragedy and promised a
full investigation. Mr. Putin's interview on state T-
V -- although carefully orchestrated -- did sharply
contrast with his earlier silence.
Political analysts say it could reflect Mr. Putin's
growing awareness of the power of public opinion and
an unshackled press. But independent journalists fear
Mr. Putin's government will most probably move to curb
the media and its criticism rather than respond to it.
(Signed)
NEB/LMK/JWH/JP
24-Aug-2000 12:53 PM LOC (24-Aug-2000 1653 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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