Media and Beslan: a Russian point of view

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on September 15, 2004 at 4:03 PM

Read in Sreda, monthly magazine for Russia’s media professionals. The article is written by Alexei Pankin: "... The editor Raf Shakirov was punished for the issue of Izvestia newspaper published the morning after Beslan school storming. Eviction of Shakirov is a double shame. This is shame on the Kremlin who believes it permissible to interfere into private media affairs. And this is shame on the managing Prof-Media company that needed a kick from the Kremlin to make this kind of decision."

"The ex-editor in chief of Izvestia is a newspaper man to the bone. I am sure that his reasoning was purely professional: no one has this story, and he does! He'll be the first! Moreover, the entire front page being a poster-like picture of an agonized, half-naked, bare-breasted, Ossetian hostage teenage girl carried by a rescue officer, the whole first section of newspaper consisting of victims' photos, and a similar poster-like picture on the last page ? this is a new word in newspaper design! He is on top of the world again!

Well, for this kind of professional reasoning during a national tragedy one should be not just fired, but banned for life. The fired one himself, though, says that he wanted to shake people emotionally and make them realize that the country is at war. The President himself said the same thing a few hours later, - the misunderstood one says.

As if without any editors in chief or presidents we would not be able to figure that when five monstrous acts of terror take place in the country within 10 days, this means war. As if Muscovites, who are the majority of Izvestia audience, needed additional emotional shaking just after experiencing another subway bombing. As if we did not understand that if all participants of the September First celebration were taken hostages, this would inevitably end in bloodbath, and our only hope is a miracle!"

Source: Sreda (in Russian)

Posted in :