Putin just shut down RIA Novosti and VoR--and folded them into his OWN "RT" propaganda machine.

[MADem]

23. I agree--and so do many journalists inside and outside of Russia.

The fact that he stuck a huge homophobe at the head of this new agency suggests that Sochi is gonna be problematic--I fear for gay athletes.

There is NO way this is "no big deal:"

The most controversial aspect of Russia Today's launch was the appointment of Mr Kiselev as its director-general.

Known back in the 1990s as one of the faces of "independent journalism", Mr Kiselev has recently become notorious for his extreme and sometimes bizarre diatribes in his role as a top anchor on official channel Rossiya 1.

He has likened Kremlin opponents at home and abroad to the Nazis, used a Swedish children's TV show about toilet training to exemplify "Western values", and repeatedly demonised homosexuals.

Arguably his most controversial outburst was when he said that Russia's controversial law banning the promotion of homosexuality among children was not tough enough on gays.

"They should be banned from donating blood and sperm, and if they are killed in a car crash their hearts should be buried in the ground or burnt as unfit for helping to prolong anyone's life," he told viewers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25309139

"Odious," indeed. This is an horrific development.