April 14 was a sad anniversary for me. That day marked 10 years since the demise of the old russian tv online, where I served as director until it was taken over in a Kremlin-backed campaign in 2001. Any objective journalism expert or even simple television viewer will attest to the fact that NTV set a new standard for the country’s television journalism. Year after year, NTV reporters and anchors earned more awards for journalistic excellence than any other channel. Although the past decade has passed quickly, it is a long period of time. How can I explain to today’s journalism students that Russia once had independent television? Accustomed to watching today’s NTV and the other government-controlled channels, how can those students even begin to imagine that Russia really had a private television network that didn’t maintain a “blacklist” to keep opposition members off the air; didn’t take orders from the Kremlin on what to show or not to show; engaged in real investigative journalism to expose corruption and other abuses among high-ranking officials, including members of the president’s inner circle; and produced numerous satire programs that lampooned the shortcomings and mistakes of top officials. 17502
http://www.russian-tv-online.com