Borat! is Our PR Czar, Read Here Today!

[Paul Richardson]

Michael:

For those of us outside the beltway, thanks for the heads up.  
Interesting indeed.

It has been interesting, as a non-objective observer, to watch these  
various government-influenced English language media outlets emerge  
from the auspices of RIAN, RG and others. Touted as partnerships, the  
government involvement in these media ranges from financing to direct  
control.

First there was Russian Profile, which is state financed and has the  
involvement of Independent Media (Moscow Times, et al) and is not a  
bad business mag, if a bit long winded. Then there was Russia Today,  
the overhyped and underwatched TV network. Then various newspaper  
inserts and special editions, and now Russia! magazine - which one  
Russian journalist commented to me was "more like a magazine about  
publishing a magazine on Russia than anything else". Frankly, I find  
it hard to trust a magazine with an exclamation point in the  
masthead... In any event, its overt involvement in this publication  
gives the lie to its past assertions that it receives no Russian  
government support.

In any event it is fun to read such turgid Russlish prose again. Like  
a trip down memory lane. When a government is involved in a media  
outlet, the result will almost always be ham-handed. Still, as an  
amateur kremlinologist, I find it interesting to read these things to  
understand what they would have us think they are thinking...

Best,

Paul Richardson
Publisher
Russian Life magazine
www.russianlife.com




On Sep 1, 2007, at 1:00 AM, SEELANGS automatic digest system wrote:

>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Fri, 31 Aug 2007 09:47:16 -0400
> From:    Michael Denner <mdenner at STETSON.EDU>
> Subject: Russia has hired Borat as PR-Czar
>
> If you didn't catch yesterday's WaPo insert from =
> =F2=CF=D3=D3=C9=CA=D3=CB=C1=D1 =C7=C1=DA=C5=D4=C1, you missed  
> something =
> so redolent of late 1980s propaganda that I initially thought it  
> MUST be =
> satire...=20
>

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