Russia Today TV

Infobox TV channel
name = Russia Today
logofile = Russia Today TV.png logosize = 120px
logoalt =
logo2 =
launch = December 10, 2005
closed date =
picture format =
share =
share as of =
share source =
network =
owner = RIA Novosti
slogan =
editor = Simonyan
broadcast area = Worldwide, via Cable, Satellite and Internet
headquarters = Moscow
former names =
replaced names =
sister names = Rusiya Al-Yaum, Vesti
timeshift names =
web = [http://RussiaToday.com www.RussiaToday.com]
[http://www.rtarabic.com www.RTarabic.com]
terr serv 1 =
terr chan 1 =
sat serv 1 = Sky Digital
sat chan 1 = Channel 512
sat serv 2 = SKY Italia
sat chan 2 = Channel 954
sat serv 3 = NTV Plus
sat chan 3 =
sat serv 4 = Kosmos TV
sat chan 4 = Channel 37
sat serv 5 = DStv
sat chan 5 = Channel 405
sat serv 6 = Freesat
sat chan 6 = Channel 206
cable serv 1 = Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey
cable chan 1 = Channel 135
cable serv 2 = Elisa
cable chan 2 = Channel ?
sat radio serv 1 =
sat radio chan 1 =
adsl serv 1 = Total Peripherals Group
adsl chan 1 = ?
adsl serv 2 = Akado
adsl chan 2 = Channel 605
online serv 1 = Official Stream
online chan 1 = [http://streaming.visionip.tv/Russia_Today Watch] (Free, 508 Kbit/s)
online serv 2 = Livestation
online chan 2 = [http://www.livestation.com/ Watch] (Free, 502 Kbit/s)

Russia Today TV, also known as Russia Today, is a globally broadcast English-language news channel from Russia, and the first all-digital Russian TV channel, sponsored by the state-funded Russian news agency RIA-Novosti.Cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2005/06/07/russiantv050607.html |title=Russia Today to be 24-hour, English TV station |publisher=CBC News |date=2005-06-07 |accessdate=2008-05-06]

The channel, which cost about $30 million in 2005 to set up and $60 million for its first year of operation,Cite Web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/03/10/russia-today-critics.html |title=Journalism mixes with spin on Russia Today: critics |publisher=CBC News |date=2006-03-10 |accessdate=2008-05-06] started broadcasting on December 10, 2005 with nearly 100 English-speaking journalists reporting for it worldwide, [cite web |url=http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/archive_cen/160905.html |title=Russia Today tomorrow |date=2005-09-15 |publisher=Broadband TV News |accessdate=2007-07-26] and is available around the world via satellite. The broadcast is also available online for free on the Russia Today homepage.

Objectives

Russia Today sets out to present the Russian point of view on events in Russia and its 'near abroad' and give the viewers an opportunity to get acquainted with Russian views on world and domestic events. Margarita Simonyan, Russia Today's editor-in-chief, says the station was born out of the desire to present an "unbiased portrait of Russia".

Like Al Jazeera English, France 24, Iranian Press TV and Germany's DW World, the channel can be seen as an attempt to provide an alternative to the point of view on international news, dominated by CNN International and BBC World.Fact|date=May 2008

A major part of Russia Today air time is devoted to Russian and world news, but it also airs business and sports news. In addition, Russia Today features documentaries and commentaries on present-day life in Russia and Russian history.

Achievements

In 2007, Russia Today's share of monthly audience among NTV Plus viewers in Moscow exceeded those of CNN and Bloomberg. [http://www.russiatoday.ru/news_events News&events] Retrieved: 05-10-08]

In December 2007, Russia Today programmes were displayed in New York on America's main information video walls, NASDAQ and Reuters. On New Year's Eve, Russia Today's New Year's programme from Moscow and St. Petersburg was displayed live on the NASDAQ and Reuters screens for the thousands of people celebrating in Times Square.

In August 2007, Russia Today had television's first ever live report from the North Pole, which lasted 5 minutes 41 seconds. A Russia Today crew participated in the Arktika 2007 Russian polar expedition, led by Artur Chilingarov on the "Akademik Fyodorov" icebreaker. [ [http://www.integrum.com/ArticlesByCategoryPage.aspx?oid=327&title=Russia_Today Russia Today] Retrieved: 05-10-08]

In June 2007, Russia Today was one of the first Russian TV channels to have its own channel on YouTube, the leading video hosting site on the Internet. In January 2008, the total number of views for Russia Today videos on YouTube was over 3 million, and Russia Today was sixth in YouTube's Most Viewed Partners rating, leaving behind CBS, BBC World, Al Jazeera English, and France 24.

Professional awards

In November 2007, Russia Today's report on the anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe received a special prize from the international 2007 Media Excellence Awards [ [http://www.aib.org.uk/newsContent.asp?node_id=8,95&content_id=1613 Media Excellence Awards] ] in the News Coverage category. Other nominees included major international broadcasters such as BBC, France 24, Deutsche Welle, CBS, Al Arabiya, and others. There was only one story by CBS News which rated higher than Russia Today and it received the Grand Prix.

In September 2007, the Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio [ [http://www.eatr.ru/ Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio] ] awarded Russia Today with the Prize for Professional Skillfulness.

In June 2007, the 11th "Save and Preserve" International Environmental Television Festival [ [http://www.admhmao.ru/english/newsE/2007/june/09.htm 11th "Save and Preserve" International Environmental Television Festival] ] awarded its Grand Prix to Russia Today's "Meeting with Nature" series. There were 284 entries competing in 10 categories, including a work by German TV channel Deutsche Welle.

In September 2006, the 10th "Golden Tambourine" International Festival for Television programmes and films [ [http://zolotoybuben.ru/ "Golden Tambourine" International Festival for Television programmes and films] ] awarded Russia Today's documentary "People of the Bering Strait" in the Ethnography and Travel category.

Criticism

Russia Today has received some criticism in the media for its close ties with the Russian state authoritiescite web |url=http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=609300 |title=Russia Today Built on Kremlin Ties |date=2005-09-16 |publisher=Kommersant |accessdate=2008-04-14] Cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/12/24cd96c9-864b-4d7f-8431-541f7d6a4ade.html |title=Russia: New International Channel Ready To Begin Broadcasting |date=2005-12-09 |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |accessdate=2008-05-06] cite web |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/05/AR2008030503539_pf.html |title=Russia Pumps Tens of Millions Into Burnishing Image Abroad |date=2008-03-06 |publisher=Washington Post |accessdate=2008-04-14] [ cite web |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-07/2005-07-06-voa33.cfm?CFID=285357866&CFTOKEN=42597376 |title=New Global TV Venture to Promote Russia |date=2005-07-06 |publisher=Voice of America |accessdate=2008-04-14 ] [cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/11/uttm/main1115914.shtml |title=Russian News, English Accent |date=2005-12-12 |publisher=CBS News |accessdate=2008-04-14] and a few years after the channel started broadcasting, for being a "cheerleader" of the Kremlin, applying positive spin to reports about governmental institutions and refraining from criticizing Prime Minister and former Russian president Vladimir Putin or the government. Boris Kagarlitsky, a Moscow-based sociologist and political commentator, claims that Russia Today is "a continuation of the old Soviet propaganda services".

Its foreign journalists have stated they are under no more pressure than in Britain or the United States to conform, and its executives insisted that the channel should have an independent editorial policy.cite web |url=http://jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2371947 |title= KREMLIN MOVES TO REPAIR DAMAGED INTERNATIONAL IMAGE |date=2007-02-26 |publisher=Eurasia Daily Monitor |accessdate=2008-04-14 ] Also at the same time, the head of the Russian governmental media watchdog Russian Federal Press and Mass Communications Agency, Mikhail Seslavinskii, denied there is any state censorship and stated that the Russia Today TV works on its own as an independent editorial office. Supporters say that putting forward a "positive view of Russia" is no different than what many other countries do.

During the 2008 South Ossetian conflict, William Dunbar, a journalist at Russia Today, resigned, claiming pro-Russian bias on the channel. He told the Moscow Times that a series of video satellite links that he had scheduled for 11 August had been cancelled because he had mentioned Russian bombing of targets inside Georgia earlier that day. “The real news, the real facts of the matter, didn’t conform to what they were trying to report, and therefore, they wouldn’t let me report it. I felt that I had no choice but to resign.” However one senior journalist at Russia Today called his allegations of bias "nonsense". "The Russian coverage I have seen has been much better than much of the Western coverage," he said, adding, "My view is that Russia Today is not particularly biased at all. When you look at the Western media, there is a lot of genuflection towards the powers that be. Russian news coverage is largely pro-Russia, but that is to be expected." [cite web | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990468.html?categoryid=14&cs=1 |title= Russia claims media bias
date=2008-08-12]

atellite, Internet and Cable broadcasts

Russia Today is transmitted on thirteen satellites, covering Europe, Asia, the Americas, southern Africa and Australia. [cite web| url=http://www.russiatoday.ru/satellite | title=Russia Today:Satellite|date=2008-09-17] Of these, eleven transmit the channel free to air, enabling it to be received without a subscription. [cite web| url=http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/Russia.html | title=Free TV from Russia|date=2008-09-17]

Viewers in the Russian Federation can receive the English-language channel as a part of the NTV Plus basic package. In the UK and Ireland, it is available on the Sky platform's channel 512, including in the Freesat from Sky package. In Italy it is available on the Sky Italia Channel 954. In the US, it is available to digital customers of [http://www.timewarnercable.com/nynj/ Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey] , Channel 135. [ cite web |url=http://www.russiatoday.ru/corporate_profile |title=Corporate profile |publisher=Russia Today |accessdate=2007-07-26]

News clips and a free live stream of the broadcast are also available via the [http://www.Russiatoday.ru Russia Today homepage] . In some countries, Russia Today can also be received by the IP-TV program Zattoo.

Russia Today can also be viewed in high quality for free using the Livestation software.

Programmes

* News
* Weather
* Business Today
* Entertainment
* Spotlight
* Sports
* Russia Close-Up
* XL Reports ("Documentary" since 2006)
* In Context
* Technology Update
* Wayfarer (Russian Travel Programme)

News presenters

*Sophie Shevardnadze
*Bill Dod
*Kevin Owen
*Karen Roberts
*Marina Dzhashi
*Alice Hibbert
*Yulia Bokova
*Yevgney Sukhoi
*Anna Fedrova
*Yulia Shapovalova--
*Olga Masalkova (Business Today)
*Laura Emmett (Business Today)--
*Martyn Andrews (Entertainment Today)--
*Andrew Farmer (Sport)
*Pete Oliver (Sport)--
*Al Gurnov (Spotlight)
*Evgeny Belenky (Media Mirror)
*Martyn Andrews (Wayfarer)
*Anne Smith (Russia Close-Up)
*Ryan Dollard (Tech Update)

Past presenters

*Amanda Burt (Press TV)
*Maryam Nemazee (Al Jazeera English)
*Jess Dunsdon (Channel M)
*Natasha Butler (France 24)
*Jason De La Pena (France 24)
*Sasha Twining (Sky News)

ee also

* International broadcasting
* Voice of Russia
* Media freedom in Russia

References

External links

* [http://www.russiatoday.com Russia Today website] en icon
* [http://streaming.visionip.tv/Russia_Today Live stream (24-7 508 kbit/s) ] en icon
* [http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=RussiaToday Official Russia Today YouTube Portal] en icon
* [http://tyros.leb.net/satellite/ How to watch Russia Today via Satellite in North America]