Articles by radionewsfeeds

Russia’s State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), Channel One, and the Ostankino radio house announced that they were leaving the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), a statement by the broadcasters said on Saturday.“Channel One, VGTRK and the Ostankino radio house announce their exit from the European Broadcasting Union as a response measure to Russia being excluded from the participation in the Eurovision-2022 song contest which we view as an improper political sacrifice at the music forum which has always emphasized its non-political status,” the statement said.On February 25, the EBU made a decision that Russia wouldn’t participate in the Eurovision-2022 song contest which will be held in Turin.Earlier, Baltic broadcasters appealed to the EBU to suspend or cancel the membership of VGTRK and Channel One over the situation in Ukraine. They urged the EBU to adopt a firm stance and use all available means to support and protect the people of Ukraine and its independence.Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people “who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.” The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.Russia’s Defense Ministry reported later on Thursday that Russian troops were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities. It emphasized that Ukrainian military infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons.Image: Ostankino Tower, Moscow. Wikimapia. […]

The World Broadcasting Unions (WBU), a coordinating body for broadcasting unions who represent broadcaster networks across the globe, has issued the following statement on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.“As the situation between Russia and Ukraine escalates, access to trusted, factual, and impartial information is more critical than ever.All media broadcasters and the World Broadcasting Unions’ members are focused on doing our job for the public in difficult circumstances and we will not hesitate to condemn any infringements or violations of press freedom. It is vital for journalists to be allowed to continue to operate both freely and safely, and report without hindrance. Supporting media freedom must be prioritized, not despite these challenging circumstances, but because of them.”  The statement comes as Kremlin clamps down on social media and threatening to muzzle outspoken independent news outlets. Independent radio station Ekho Moskvy was closed last week and TV Rain, an independent radio station suspended operations after receiving threats of closure from the authorities as Russian officials demand that the country’s media cover the Ukraine invasion in strict accordance with the official line.In further crackdown on dissenters and western social media, police in Moscow are stopping people in the streets to go through their phones and screening their text messages and phones.Media covering the invasion in Ukraine is not safe either, as a team of Sky News reporters narrowly escaped a violent ambush by Russian saboteurs near Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.Various media broadcasting organisations have responded by discontinuing their operations in Russia.Major broadcast software company Adthos has cut ties with Russia, where it has conducted much of its R&D over the years. Spotify has closed its Russia office indefinitely and also removed all content from state media RT and Sputnik from its platform in the European Union, the United States and other markets around the world, except for Russia. Similar steps have been taken by Facebook and Twitter. […]