FW: [SEELANGS] freedom of press in Russia

[Josh Wilson]

For those who are interested in this issue, there is a great thread running
on a forum populated by English speakers in Russia.
http://redtape.ru/forum/showthread.php?t=21595

My personal opinion is that the authorities do have plenty of ammo (although
they haven't charged the eXile yet with anything to do with their editorial
content). The eXile tends to publish stories about ufos in siberia, how many
prostitutes can one sleep with in one night (investigative reporting that
Ames did himself, bless his soul), and "Death Porn" (I'll let you guess what
that section of the paper is all about). The paper pays its bills mostly
with large, nudity-featuring ads for prostitutes and strip clubs. What's
more, the eXile is distributed for free in otherwise family-friendly places
like Hard Rock Café and TGI Fridays. If it were a paper in America, under
these conditions, we would not be at all surprised or even likely concerned
if some conservative person lodged a complaint about the paper and demanded
the government at least restrict the paper's circulation. 

That all said, the eXile also produced some of the very best investigative
reporting in all Russia. Some of their reporting was so good it was
plagiarized by major outlets in the West. 

While I have to partly agree with the person who companied about the
publication and the authorities now investigating it, I think it's horrid
that Russia has such an environment for media that a newspaper's investors
will run scared rather than support the paper and try to work out the issues
at hand so that paper can continue to operate. 

I'll miss the eXile. 



Josh Wilson
Asst. Director
The School of Russian and Asian Studies
Editor-in-Chief
Vestnik, The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies
www.sras.org
jwilson at sras.org 
 

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