Vladimir has Access to US Airwaves. USA Transmissions Blocked in Russia

Even after the election, the Russian government continues to inundate the United States with its propaganda and to go so far as to broadcast over our airwaves as well as cable TV. Russia has an FM radio station in Washington, DC with studios just blocks from the White House. (Was the location chosen so that parties from both locations could walk to a nearby Starbucks to do some colluding?)

There is no reciprocity. United States news outlets are banned from the airwaves and from cable TV in Russia. The Voice of American (a station on which I was once interviewed in the interest of full disclosure) and Radio Free Europe were banned in Russia by a 2012 law. They can be accessed over the internet.

Russia broadcasts its propaganda in the USA on Sputnik and RT (Russian Television) using native English-speaking announcers and program hosts, many of whom are Americans who are willing to say anything on the air in exchange for a fat salary.

Admittedly, the audience for Russian State broadcasts in the United States is small and seems to be limited mainly to the very gullible. However, we should not allow Russian broadcasts in our country without obtaining reciprocal rights.

Some of the information used in this post was obtained from two Washington Post articles, which you can access by clicking here and here. Yes, I admit the Washington Post is a liberal newspaper, but when it comes to demanding fair treatment from an enemy country, liberals, conservatives, and we moderates should all be on the same page.

 

You're too late, Trump is already doing this:

February 8, 2017

The U.S. government-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE)and Voice of America launched a new 24-hour Russian-language channel on Tuesday to offer Russian speakers living at home and abroad a new alternative to government-run media.

The channel, Current Time, is available on cable, satellite and digital platforms and aimed at millions of Russian speakers in Russia, the Baltics, Ukraine, the Caucasus, central Asia and elsewhere.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-rfe-idUSKBN15N13Y

 

Thanks for the update. Let's hope that the new channel retains cable access.

As to your assertion that Trump is doing it, the RTE spokesperson quoted in the news article you referenced was emphatic that RTE independent from the US government, implying that Trump is not doing it.

 

The first words in the article are "The U.S. government-backed....", it happened on Trump's watch and it's financed by Trump's government so he IS doing it. That the content is independent of government views does not change these facts.

 

I've noticed that there is more than one contradiction in that article, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-rfe-idUSKBN15N13Y for those not following the discussion.

The second paragraph starts: "The channel, Current Time, is available on cable, satellite and digital platforms," but later we read, " 'The only platform we have is digital, and social networks,' Pejic said, adding some viewers would also have access via satellite. 'Cable providers do not want to put us on.' "

So, the question seems to remain open: does Current Time have access to Russian cable TV or doesn't it? The reporter says it does but quotes the editor in chief as saying it doesn't.

 

To call RT propaganda is a bit of a stretch imo. While they are clearly Russia leaning on Crimea, etc, their usual reporting is pretty straight ahead.

I view them much like Al Jazeera.

 

We all should cherish our free press and independent judiciary instead of attacking it.
The Russians and the Chinese just banned VPNs from their countries because they want to keep people from informing themselves, and their press freedoms are a delusional joke, yet many cons say that we should be more like Russia and would welcome being dominated by a dictator.

 

LMAO...RT is a mouthpiece for the Putin regime, nothing more.
Al Jazeera is actually independent and has alienated most of the ME despots with their factual reporting.