NY Times: Russias RT Network: Is It More BBC or K.G.B.?

[TomCADem]

Given its poor ratings, Russia Today would have collapsed long ago without financial support from the Kremlin. However, as the 2016 election showed, its not about turning a profit.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/world/europe/russias-rt-network-is-it-more-bbc-or-kgb.html?_r=0

To many Americans, the impression that RT is an instrument of Russian meddling was reinforced when its programming suddenly interrupted C-Span’s online coverage of the House of Representatives in January. (C-Span later called it a technical error, not a hacking.)

Watching RT can be a dizzying experience. Hard news and top-notch graphics mix with interviews from all sorts of people: well known and obscure, left and right. They include favorites like Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and Noam Chomsky, the liberal critic of Western policies; odd voices like the actress Pamela Anderson; and cranks who think Washington is the source of all evil in the world.

But if there is any unifying character to RT, it is a deep skepticism of Western and American narratives of the world and a fundamental defensiveness about Russia and Mr. Putin.

Analysts are sharply divided about the influence of RT. Pointing to its minuscule ratings numbers, many caution against overstating its impact. Yet focusing on ratings may miss the point, says Peter Pomerantsev, who wrote a book three years ago that described Russia’s use of television for propaganda. “Ratings aren’t the main thing for them,” he said. “These are campaigns for financial, political and media influence.”

[Cha]

1. Wow!

[Wounded Bear]

2. They had to ask?

[DetlefK]

3. RT.com is interviewing conspiracy-theorists, Obama-haters, Alt-Right...

... and then they pretend that these people actually have a valid opinion on issues like US foreign-policy.
(EDIT: They once did an interview with a "former Pentagon-member". What they didn't mention was that he was fired for having contacts to an arms-dealer.
Or another time they brought up two Russians who were the victims of the unfair US justice-system... What they forgot to mention was that one was a big-time arms-dealer with an international arrest-warrant and the other one was a drug-smuggler.)

Or how about the historian who wrote an article for RT about the Balkans (summary: evil US is dragging Macedonia into NATO because imperialism), but whose entire reasoning would have collapsed if he had mentioned the brutal yugoslavian civil-war of the 1990s?

Or how about the blogger who praised Iran as being an independent country and free, free from western dictates, a vibrant and open country... where women get arrested if they dare to sing on a stage. A vibrant, open and free country where everything has to pass muster with a circle of septugenarian religious fanatics.

[Amaryllis]

4. Don't see any refrence to BBC in post?