Springtime for Putin on Russia Today

In Russia, all the world is green – at least that’s the impression you’re left with from watching the Kremlin mouthpiece news channel Russia Today. Founded in 2005 by state news agency RIA Novosti, the government funded 24-hour channel features an impressively high production value, churning out flattering soft news pieces without even taking commercial breaks. If you live in the United States, you might be surprised to find it deeply tucked away in your cable TV listings. But strangely, I am in complete agreement with Heidi Brown’s opinion column in Forbes about the channel’s strange appeal: I know I am watching propaganda, but it is well made propaganda. Brown writes “Slick, fast-moving and well-produced (and with theme music suspiciously similar to the BBC’s), Russia Today is mysteriously compelling. My boyfriend has begun watching it several times a week; he laughs at the earnestness with which the young Russian reporters–usually attractive and fluent in English–strive to conform to the official stance on various issues. And yet we find ourselves wanting to keep watching.” Full article here.