media
ARD and ZDF suspend reporting from Moscow
In view of the new Russian media law, ARD and ZDF are temporarily stopping their reporting from Moscow. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Russian President Putin is increasingly restricting independent media reporting. This makes news about the war more difficult. German broadcasters are also responding.
ARD and ZDF are suspending reporting from their Moscow studios for the time being. They are reacting to a change in the law that the Russian parliament passed on Friday.
With this, the dissemination of alleged false information about the Russian armed forces can be punished with high fines and up to 15 years in prison.
The public broadcasters said in a coordinated statement: “ARD and ZDF are examining the consequences of the law passed on Friday and are initially suspending reporting from their Moscow studios. The two public broadcasters will continue to provide the audience with comprehensive information about what is happening in Russia and Ukraine from their other locations.” Further details were not initially known.
It had previously become known that several international broadcasters and agencies were partially or completely stopping their work in the country. “CNN will stop broadcasting in Russia while we continue to assess the situation and our next steps,” confirmed a spokesman for the US broadcaster on Friday evening (local time) when asked.
The US news agency Bloomberg had previously announced that it would stop reporting on Russian territory. The British BBC also initially stopped any form of reporting on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Fine against German RT program
Meanwhile, German media regulators have imposed a fine of 25,000 euros on the German-language live program of the Russian state medium RT. According to a preceding threat, the program should have been discontinued by Friday. The media authority Berlin-Brandenburg informed the German Press Agency on Saturday: Since the live stream from RT DE is still available on various websites on Saturday, the fine will be fixed. It must be paid by March 16th.
At the same time, a new fine of 40,000 euros will be threatened if the broadcasting of the television program RT DE is not stopped by then, it said. At the beginning of February, the media authorities had already issued a broadcast ban on the German-language program of the state medium because there was no broadcasting license for the program in Germany. A license is basically a prerequisite for offering a radio program in this country.
RT DE wants to defend itself against the broadcasting ban and filed a lawsuit with the Berlin Administrative Court in February. In the meantime, there is also an expedited procedure. It is unclear when the court will decide. Parallel to the German RT broadcasting license case, an EU sanction came into force on Wednesday, according to which the distribution of the Russian state media RT and Sputnik has been banned ever since. The EU imposed the measure in connection with the war in Ukraine. It must be implemented in the respective states.
New media law in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed several laws further restricting freedom of expression in Russia on Friday evening, further curtailing independent media reporting. Up to 15 years imprisonment threatens for the dissemination of alleged “false information” about the Russian armed forces. Penalties also threaten those who publicly “denigrate” the army. The Russian parliament had previously approved a corresponding change in the law.
“Bloomberg News will temporarily stop the work of its journalists in Russia,” said the New York-based company on Friday evening (local time). The change in the law appears to be aimed at making every independent journalist a criminal, said Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait. That makes it impossible “to continue any semblance of normal journalism in the country.”
International press withdraws
The BBC announced its decision via Twitter on Friday. “This legislation appears to criminalize the process of independent journalism,” BBC director general Tim Davie is quoted as saying in the tweet. “This leaves us with no option but to halt the work of all BBC News journalists and their staff in the Russian Federation while we investigate the full impact of this undesirable development.” The BBC Russian language news program will continue to operate outside of Russia. Reporting from Ukraine will also continue.
Since last week, media in Russia have been banned from using terms such as “attack”, “invasion” and “declaration of war” in reporting on the war against Ukraine. Moscow describes the war as a military “special operation”.