Hot topics click link for more
Many news outlets have begun offering Ukrainian language information in recent days. Some is meant for Ukrainians enduring the horrors of war in their country. Information for refugees is also being offered by broadcasters and publishers in Poland and Lithuania. There is another news dessert: Russia.
Major newspapers in three Scandinavian countries have started publishing in the Russian language. In a joint statement (March 10) chief editors Kaius Niemi (Helsingin Sanomat - Finland), Peter Wolodarski (Dagens Nyheter - Sweden) and Christian Jensen (Politiken - Denmark) aim to thwart the official Russian propaganda machine. “Last week, we watched with horror,” they wrote, as “the last remaining independent television and radio operators were closed by order of the Russian prosecutor's office. In addition, dozens of Russian and foreign journalists were detained during reports from anti-war protest sites.” (See more about press freedom here)
“Russian mothers should know how their sons were sent into the unknown, how innocent civilians are killed and injured, and a million Ukrainians were forced to flee their country,” they continued. “And how the childhood of millions of Ukrainian children was destroyed. We want to provide Russians with impartial and reliable news and review.”
“Democracy dies in Darkness,” they concluded. “The free flow of independent information is necessary to maintain hope for peace and humanity.”
After forcing radio channel Ekho Moskvy to close, Russian authorities have moved the Sputnik propaganda channel to the vacated frequencies, reported Moscow Times (March 8). "The historical injustice that the most quoted radio station in Russia still didn't have an FM frequency has been fixed,” gloated RT (Russia Today) chief editor Margarita Simonyan in a social media post. (See more about propaganda here)
Several media outlets have recently initiated Ukrainian language offerings. Two main threads are emerging; news and information to people in Ukraine and special information to Ukrainian refugees arriving in other countries. Some broadcasters are also ramping up news programs to the Russian Federation. The reasons for all this are, sadly, obvious.
Satellite broadcaster Belsat TV has begun news programming in Ukrainian, said a company statement, quoted by Polish media news portal Wirtualnemedia (March 8). "The decision to expand Belsat's programming offer is a response to the situation in Ukraine, whose residents, as a result of the war, have more and more difficult access to current information.” An evening news program will be hosted by Ukrainian journalist Svitlana Ovcharova, who works with Belsat’s Ukrainian language website Wot Tak, recently blocked by infamous Russian media regulator/censor Roskomnadzor. (See more about media in Ukraine here)
“For the time being, one news program in Ukrainian per day is planned,” said Belsat deputy director Alexy Dzizakavitsky. "The amount of material in Ukrainian will probably have to be increase over time. Especially if the Russian troops prevent the work of our Ukrainian colleagues.” Belsat is an offshoot of Polish state Telewizja Polska, launched in 2007 with services for Belarus.
Meanwhile Poland’s state radio broadcaster Polskie Radio has begun simulcasting Ukrainian public Radio 1 through a DAB+ multiplex covering border areas. Czech DAB+ multiplex operators have also added Ukraine Radio 1. Slovak public broadcaster RTVS has added Ukrainian language news bulletins on Radio Regina. Privately owned RMF FM received an FM broadcast concession, rather quickly, for the same border area for Radio RMF Ukrainia with 24/ information for refugees.
German regional public broadcasters RBB and WDR have added a Ukrainian language news bulletin to their jointly produced Cosmo radio channel. The nightly newscast airs at 10 pm CET. It targets Ukrainian refugees in Germany.
Rumored for several days, the BBC World News has returned English language broadcasts on two shortwave frequencies that cover most of Ukraine and western Russia. The information programs are available four hours each day. There are unconfirmed reports that USAGM, the US funded international media agency, intends to offer either medium wave or shortwave transmissions from either Lithuania or Poland with the same target.
Ad Land is full of surprises. This can be a major annoyance when they release the bots - programmatic ad placement - on the unsuspecting person. Since the ad bots are not going away perhaps they can be useful. Maybe. Hopefully.
Several interesting projects have popped up meant to direct Russian speakers to information that, shall we say, diverges from the official government line, reported MIT Technology Review (March 4). Ads, videos and memes seem to confound the infamous Russian regulator/censor Roskomnadzor, which is preoccupied with busting the BBC. HA! Digital marketing folks are - of course - going after the ad breaks.
Some of these efforts seem to be rather ad hoc, individuals with the digital expertise motivated by recently events in Ukraine. Others are larger and better organized, both in Ukraine and elsewhere. “People have found out that they can beat Putin at his own game by countering the disinformation in a way that allows any Russian with an internet connection to see it,” said University of Malta security and information academic Agnes Venema. Those involved are “the 2022 version of the underground newspaper.” (See more about digital advertising here)
Typically, pop-up videos are fed to ad servers targeting Russian-language web users. The Safe Ukraine social media agency has offered a video of a tearful Russian soldier on a phone call to family recounting the horrors of war followed by a quick list of reliable news sources. With Google closely monitored by Roskomnadzor, Yandex serves up ads to the Russian market. (See more about media in the Russian Federation)
Digital advertising offering a boundless supply of opportunities, some of these initiatives are looking beyond mobile apps and search engines. London digital tech professional Rob Blackie has a team of “20 digital marketing experts from three countries” working on “showing people news about what’s going on in Ukraine.” His day-job is getting information about coronavirus vaccines and treatments around anti-vaxxer censors.
Maybe those digital billboards in the Moscow Metro will be next. “In the modern world there are a lot of places you can advertise, and we’re trying a lot of those,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of experts who have devious brains trying to get around the rules.”
Trade associations are known for keeping internal disagreements out of the public eye. Glowing press releases, celebratory banquets and politician lobbying are far more important. Every interaction is kept cordial, except when it isn’t.
Germany’s third largest publishing house - Funke Mediengruppe - is leaving publisher trade association BDZV (Federal Association of Digital and Newspaper Publishers). And they have not gone quietly. Managing Director Christoph Rüth indicated in a letter, cited by FAZ (March 4), that there is a problem with BDZV president Mathias Döpfner, who is also chief executive of Axel Springer, Germany’s largest publishing house. Herr Rüth expressed concern for the "credibility of the entire industry.” (See more about media in Germany here)
The disquiet has been simmering within German media circles for several weeks, most recently focused on disgraced former Bild chief editor Julian Reichelt and Herr Döpfner’s hesitancy, quite public, to kick him off the payroll. Bild is Axel Springer’s flagship tabloid with a definite right-wing bent, which Herr Reichelt directed. He had been outed for sexual misconduct, and Herr Döpfner’s reticence in disclosing it all, by none other than the New York Times (October 17, 2021), just as Axel Springer ramped up acquisitions in the US. The NYT reports were based on work by the Ippen Media investigative team that was not allowed to publish by owner Dirk Ippen, fearing repercussions from Herr Döpfner. “Döpfner’s role in the Reichelt affair and his suitability as President of the BDZV will have to be examined very carefully,” wrote Süddeutsche Zeitung a few days later (October 20, 2021). (See more about Axel Springer here)
Herr Rüth was further anguished that other BDZV members tried to soothe things over by offering to appoint Funke Mediengruppe publisher Julia Becker to an empty board seat, recently vacated by German publisher Madsack Media chief executive Thomas Düffert. Frau Becker had called for Herr Döpfner to be removed from the BDZV board. Herr Döpfner also made disparaging statements about the “propaganda journalists” at other newspapers.
|
