In chase of viewers' hearts and minds: Russia launches new media brand in 30 languages
On Monday Rossiya Segodnya Director General Dmitry Kiselev, notorious for his propaganda efforts in covering the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, presented Sputnik, a new media brand. Sputnik was designed by agency Rossiya Segodnya for a global audience.
On November 10 Sputnik’s website in the English language was launched (http://www.sputniknews.com/).
In 2015, Sputnik is expected to broadcast in 30 languages (incl. Arabic, Chinese, Crimean Tatar, English, Estonian, French, Deutsch, Georgian, Japanese, Latvian, Moldovian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Ukrainian), with over 800 hours of radio programming daily, covering over 130 cities in 34 countries.
All of Sputnik’s multimedia centers located in major world capitals (eg London, Washington, Cairo, Istanbul, Berlin, Paris, Rio-de-Janeiro, Minsk, Kyiv, Tbilisi) will maintain their own websites and broadcast from local radio stations. Up to 100 joirnalists – ‘local professionals’ are expected to work at each Sputnik centre.
“We will verify information, our information will be reliable. We will provide alternative interpretations that are, undoubtedly, in demand around the world. We think that the world is tired of the unipolar point of view,” Kiselev said at the presentation.
New media brand Sputnik will serve to help develop political ties between Moscow and Minsk, Igor Morozov, member of the Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee, said Tuesday.
“If we are talking about the need to somehow develop the humanitarian space from Brest to Vladivostok, then the role that mass media plays in it is huge. The project that Rossiya Segodnya is launching [Sputnik] should be of great importance to all of us, especially in terms of developing our political contacts,” Morozov told Sputnik. He also noted that political contacts give a powerful impetus for economic growth.
As Russia’s image in Europe and the U.S. has sunk to extreme lows, the Kremlin has recently announced dramatic new plans to increase spending on foreign propaganda. For example, the Russian state budget includes a 41 percent increase for RT, the state-backed television network that broadcasts around the world in a number of languages.
