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| 28 декабря, 2013

Konstantin Kostin: In 2013 Government Dominated Media Coverage.

On December 27 Konstantin Kostin, Chairman of the Foundation for Civil Society Development, told our REGNUM correspondent that in 2013 the government was dominant in media coverage in and around Russia. According to Kostin, experience from the previous year has clearly shown that the time has gone, when the opposition movement was able to have a significant impact on media coverage by relying on the explosive "fuse" of rallies and protests.

In 2011-2012 the media was full of news items on the protest movement in the country, but in 2013 (despite attempts by critics of the government to fight their way back into the mainstream press by citing deteriorating economic conditions, corruption, mismanagement and a split among the elite classes) it was the government which dominated press stories in the media.

"In 2013, it was without a doubt the government which dominated the information” said Kostin. “All the main themes and discussions emanated in one way or another from the government. Up until then a significant part of media coverage was given over to protests. It was in this context that the opposition attempted to define their ideologies. But last year the ball was definitely in the government’s court when it came to news coverage. The opposition was certainly given some coverage in the press but it was essentially just playing on the side lines.

Kostin insisted that in 2013 we have seen a transition period. “Navalni now has a voice only within the context of decisions which are announced by the political leadership of the country. For example, the news story about his appearance at the Moscow City Duma elections was a result of the government policy to implement increased openness and competitiveness within Russian politics.

The front pages of the newspapers were filled for a long time with news of floods in the Far East. A year ago the front pages were all about Krymsk and it was then that the opposition tried to "rock the boat" by leaking false information about the deliberate discharge of water - and this was despite the fact that the President himself and government ministers visited the emergency area and ensured that the local authorities were doing everything they possibly could to help “After the opposition failed in their attempt to discredit the government in the Krimsk story, it came to the conclusion that it should not come anywhere near the Far East flood story.”

Today, the only themes where the opposition tries to make an impact, is exposing corruption and the inordinately high prices of public procurement. But even here they are being increasingly crowded out by the ONF (All Russian People’s Front.) If this trend continues then the FBK (Foundation for the Campaign Against Corruption) will soon find that it is swallowed up whole by the People’s Front or will simply turn into some dull commercial project such as Kompromat.ru. (Compromising Material.ru)

Kostin also pointed out, that when it comes to foreign policy the opposition has not got a leg to stand on. “All the major stories now being published in the international media come from the President. The voice of the opposition is either not heard at all or is secondary - whether the subject is the Syrian issue, the situation in Ukraine, the Constitution Day Amnesty or the release and amnesty of Khodorovsky.”

He added that in 2013 there were attempts to introduce the spectre of a new period of Isolationism in Russia and a new Cold War. “The authorities had one answer to this – on the contrary, we are all for cooperation. But only on the clear understanding that we always defend Russia’s interests.”