Will Englund (and his editors) at the Washington Post didn't think there was adequate evidence for causal relationships between three events this week. I'm just an outsider in fly-over land, but it seems to me that Putin's speech on Monday, Arkado's decision on Tuesday, and the Duma's new law on Wednesday are connected. The article does not report on those sequentially, so the connections are played down.
Russian TV provider drops CNN, Bloomberg TV, BBC
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Russian TV provider drops CNN, Bloomberg TV, BBC
A major Internet TV provider here has dropped CNN, Bloomberg TV and the BBC, for reasons that a company official said were “beyond its control.” [Customers reported that service was cut off on Tuesday.]
The provider, called Arkado, issued a statement Thursday afternoon alleging that the companies had not obtained proper “licenses” for broadcast in Russia…
On Wednesday, the Russian parliament passed a law that asserts a measure of government control over the Internet. Though its supporters said it was designed to fight child pornography, critics said they feared it would be used to suppress political speech…
In a speech to Russian diplomats Monday, President Vladimir Putin complained about foreign news coverage of Russia.
“Russia’s image abroad is formed not by us, and as a result it is often distorted and does not reflect the real situation in our country or Russia’s contribution to global civilization, science and culture,” he said. “Our country’s policies often suffer from a one-sided portrayal these days. Those who fire guns and launch airstrikes here or there are the good guys, while those who warn of the need for restraint and dialogue are for some reason at fault. But our fault lies in our failure to adequately explain our position. This is where we have gone wrong.”
If a decision has been made to move against the three channels here, however, it would appear to be related to Russia’s image at home, rather than abroad.
Teaching Comparative blog entries are indexed.
The First Edition of What You Need to Know: Teaching Tools is now available from the publisher
The Fourth Edition of What You Need to Know is available from the publisher (where shipping is always FREE).