Has RFE/RL Russian "abandoned its uniqueness"?

"After the move of RFE/RL headquarters to Prague, language service directors and rank and file journalists quickly lost almost all of their previous independence and authority. With each passing year, they became more and more silent. Visits to Prague by BBG members started to resemble meetings of the Soviet Central Committee. Uncomfortable looking Board members sitting on a podium in a long row in the former communist Parliament building gave inconsequential answers to a small number of questions allowed from the audience of employees fearful of losing their jobs and having to go back to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and other countries governed by authoritarian regimes. Even more disturbing for supporters of media freedom, however, were frequent firings of famous journalists, writers and artists who were some of the intellectual giants of international broadcasting. One of those fired was Mario Corti, the former head of RFE/RL’s Russian Service, a distinguished Italian journalist, writer, and analyst of Russian politics, society, and culture, admired among his colleagues for his intellect and the courage to stand up to the RFE/RL management and the BBG." Ted Lipien, Free Media Online, 19 May 2009.
     Mario Corti: "One of the reasons given for my removal was that I 'resisted changes'. After my removal, the RFE/RL management put their own people in management positions in the Russian Service to carry out their plans. They shut down many cultural programs, including the brilliant and popular broadcasts by Sergei Iourienen. They also shut down serious analytical programs, 'Commentators at a Roundtable,' as well as Paramonov’s show (which they later reinstated), shut down Savitsky’s popular program on jazz (recently reinstated). They changed the format of other shows, expanded the number of talk shows, and so on. In a nutshell, the station has abandoned its uniqueness, its identity, its face. Although not nearly as drastic as the BBG’s new format formula for Russia, a similar process was going on and is still going on in Great Britain at BBC’s Russian Service, which has resulted in vehement protests from a lot of respected people, including famous British academics." Interviewed presumably by Ted Lipien, ibid.
     There are no doubt interesting arguments on both sides of this debate between former RFE/RL employees and the BBG. The BBG, for its part, was alarmed about declining audiences in Russia and wanted to do something.
     Ted's post includes his oft-repeated claim. "BBG decision to terminate all Voice of America radio broadcasts to Russia, just 12 days before the Russian incursion into Georgia last summer, resulted in an unprecedented 98 percent drop in VOA’s audience reach in Russia, from 7.3% in 2007 to 0.2% in 2009 (est.)." (The 0.2% is Ted's own estimate.) There was a big drop in the VOA Russian audience between 2007 and 2009, but it is attributable mostly to the loss of VOA's television placement, a result of Russian political pressure rather than BBG action. Resuming VOA shortwave radio broadcasts would not bring back VOA's 2007 audience, because Russians are no longer in the habit of listening to shortwave.
     The Russian media market is competitive, with lots of entertainment, and news that is well produced, if not always balanced in its coverage of senior Russian leadership. No longer welcome on Russian domestic FM and television channels, US international broadcasting must find other ways to attract an audience in this country. We are well past the time when USIB can succeed in this endeavor by way of two stations that compete with each other. Posted: 21 May 2009 Permalink Print