What about the need for a shake up in the media scene here? The Daily Signal Helle Dale reports on the United States’ creation of a 24/7 news network “aimed at giving native Russian speakers facts and news in their own language and at challenging the false narratives embedded in much official Russian news and entertainment.”
While no one wants the government that doing the same here in the U.S. — chiefly because it couldn’t be trusted — there is still the need for real journalism again in America. When will the money guys and gals wake up and fight the information war on the home front?
Here is Helle Dale:
Russian propaganda and influence operations have escalated over the past decade, and have especially intensified after the invasion of Ukraine.
Plain and simple, the Kremlin has declared war on the concept of objective news reporting—on the airwaves as well as on the internet.
Years in the making and with a modest budget of $10 million, the U.S. government has finally produced its own response: a 24/7 news network called Current Time. It is aimed at giving native Russian speakers facts and news in their own language and at challenging the false narratives embedded in much official Russian news and entertainment.
Current Time had its official launch in February. In a world of fierce competition from Russia, China, Iran, and others for the information space, the U.S. government is finally entering the fray in the ambitious and focused way that the current international climate demands.
Distribution agreements have been reached so far in countries from the Baltics to Central Asia, and also in both Eastern and Western Europe. The Broadcasting Board of Governors advertises a potential audience of 275 million viewers for Current Time via satellite and cable.
Only digital distribution is possible inside Russia as the Kremlin years ago kicked U.S. broadcasts off the Russian airwaves.
But the competition from Russian state media is tough. Of course, sophisticated viewers already know that Russian media are not providing the whole story, but many simply tune into Russian TV for its sports, game shows, and dramas, which are slick and well-produced.
Read more: The Daily Signal
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