Journalist Maria Skorodilko reveals secrets of the Russian propagandist TV channel: How much does an expert cost? Who are the ‘generals’ of Lifenews?
Information policy
At first, it is hard to define any areas of responsibility, but after spending a day there one realizes that the company does have several subdivisions.
For example, it has a producer whose responsibility is emergency situations (policemen, fireworkers, investigators, doctors working at the biggest hospitals call him and report incidents – for money, of course); a producer focusing on fights and deaths of Russian pop stars (he is in touch with administrators of expensive restaurants, doctors, former spin doctors, etc.). As soon as something extraordinary happens, a corresponding producer immediately tasks a reporter and a cameraman who rush to the scene at rapid-fire pace. By the way, the stories about Lifenews crews coming to the site of the fire shortly before firefighters are not joky.
The main condition each journalist always has to meet is as much picturing the event as possible. And quickly! Correspondents need not interview someone, all they have to do is, say, to get into a half-burnt building, or in witnesses’ windows, or under the skirt of the Emergencies Ministry press secretary – and to make a story of it. It does not matter whether this story is true. Lifenews wants to be Number One; it means its stories should be bestsellers.
Let compepetive media check the facts – and wasting time. All that counts is the event itself. All Lifenews reporters know this. Because it is very cool to get somewhere, install a bug, turn a camera on, film a person who is not very good at new technologies and equipment and lie to them: “It’s all off the record, we are not ilming, look, even our cameraman has left!” That’s a common thing among Lifenews’ers – because they have excellent lawyers.
Moreover, there is a group of news editors who – for the sake of the show – plays a radio play every day. I was also in when I worked for Lifenews. How and for what purpose? For example, do you want to know more about a child abducted by Roma from the hospital in the center of Moscow? Call the hospital, but do not forget to say you are a suffering grandmother (aunt, best friend of the kidnapped child, etc). No matter what nonsense you say by the phone, only information counts. Tears and cries of a deliberate non-payer needed? Call them under the guise of a police officers. And so forth – show must go on.
And again, remember – Lifenews has the best lawyers. Besides, it is not easy to frighten ambitious persons from small towns who quickly get accustomed to a new life in the big city and average monthly salary. 95% of Lifenews staff are ‘intruders’ from other regions who rent old rooms on the outskirts of Moscow and dream of fame.
Once a Russian top official stated that for the sake of the country’s information security it was crucial a powerful news resource be created. This was not about a certain state-run company, but the real conglomerate of media outlets that would be able to wage a full-fledge information war against any opponents. The Gabrelyanovs’ company became part of it.
It should be noted that the family does serve Putin faithfully and loyally. Every day Gabrelyanov personally corresponds with government agents and follows the will of the Kremlin. Each Lifenews’er , knows who ‘deserves’ to be a respected guest of a news program and who should play the role of a whipping boy. There are people who say the things which are in line with the company’s policy, i.e. the things the company wants them to speak out.
Lifenews keeps buying off those public figures who think and say different – of course, if they are famous enough. A price list is made every 3 months (apparently, exchange fluctuations have their effect). Some of them may cost only 5,000 Russian rubles for appearing on ]air and voicing words from our ‘script’, others offer their ‘services’ for 50,000. So, people came to us, we bought them off, they did all we needed and then went to other TV and radio stations where they U-turned and expressed contrary opinions. Let’s make no reference to scruples, ok?
Poor actors get confused in the testimony? No, they just do not have enough money. They are paid for their opinion, and it does not matter whether it is sincere. Let’s face it, we will never know it for sure. The case is that one adheres to principles while others do not.
In fact, Gabrelyanov’s holding fulfils functions of a dead wagon in a long horror movie: they look for dirt about the Kremlin’s enemies, using all available tools in the universe (tapping, spying, writing fake stories, etc.). Lifenews has never been punished for its activities. Everything is possible and permission is granted, and its journalists are aware of it. What do I mean? The fact that people in uniform do work for the company’s news stream: we politely called them ‘generals’. When we phoned them bypassing official press services, we got all necessary information for which other media could wait for days. But such rules were only in the field of breaking news; other Lifenews programs and storiesbear a strong resemblance to radio dramas.
A Lifenews journalist should be able to overblow a story of at least two victims of any news. For instance, a party’s words may be taken out of context and placed as a headline. Then a journalist calls their potential opponent – or a friend – and voices the of single quote. Voila, here is the expected outrage and scandal. Next – we improvise and fuel a discussion. And of course, remember that journalism is a creative profession. One can always get off the hook with the help of the magic expression “I must have misunderstood you”.
Newsroom
The backbone of the whole team are those who came, flew, and even crawled to Moscow from other regions of Russia. So did I. I am not snobbish, but talking about Life, I cannot help thinking of lots of mistakes in colleagues’ texts and their bad grammar.
These guys make no bones about their way of earning money. They are actually ready to work 16 hours a day with only one day off in every two weeks and feel like shit. The key lies in the fact that they feel like shit in Moscow, not in their native villages. They are ready to work even if their arms and legs are broken, a serious is not a hindrance as well.
The impression is that that some special honey is added to drinks of Belarusian-born journalists to seduce them into Lifenews. Incompetent people who hardly know anything about the specifics of the profession are faces of Lifenews. Interestingly, most of them were fed and brought up by the Belarusian State Radio and Television Company (BT). Mr Gabrelyanov even organized literature lessons to improve the literacy of its employees, but in vain – they are too engaged in information war following the orders of their bosses.
Maria Skorodilko, for belsat.eu
