USAGM condemns Kremlin’s increasing censorship and responds to surge in demand for reporting from its networks

5 March 2022

USAGM condemns Kremlin’s increasing censorship and responds to surge in demand for reporting from its networks

Despite the Russian government’s attempted censorship of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), there has been a surge in demand for their content, including their collaborative 24/7 Russian-language channel Current Time. In response, USAGM is expanding program delivery and access with the addition of more affiliate stations in and around Russia and the help of the Open Technology Fund’s tools and resources to circumvent internet censorship.

“It is clear that by restricting access to RFE/RL and VOA’s fact-based reporting, the Kremlin hopes to keep its own citizens in the dark and to hide the truth,” said Kelu Chao, USAGM’s Acting CEO. “The people of Russia deserve to know the facts about their government’s attacks on Ukraine and how the world is reacting. USAGM will continue to use its resources to bring unbiased information to light at this crucial time.”

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said, “RFE/RL journalists in Russia have been unfairly slurred as ‘foreign agents,’ detained, and now their accurate reporting about an unpopular war is being blocked. RFE/RL remains committed to delivering objective reporting from inside of Russia for the Russian people despite these outrageous attempts to censor the truth.”

Acting VOA Director Yolanda López said, “The recent threat by the Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor to block VOA and other independent media outlets now is a reality for many in our audience there. Our viewers and listeners in Russia deserve access to our factual news content at this critical time, not only about the ongoing war in Ukraine, but also about all vital global events that impact their lives and actions. VOA will continue to promote and support tools and resources that will allow our audiences to bypass any blocking efforts imposed on our sites in Russia. Our journalists will continue their reporting, an example of free press in action.”

Some radio, digital, and direct-to-home satellite transmissions continue to reach Russian audiences, and demand for VOA and RFE/RL’s coverage is intensifying. For example, between February 24 and March 3, Current Time videos were viewed more than 240 million times across digital platforms. In addition, since Russia’s invasion, demand for Current Time content has increased dramatically among broadcast partners in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Estonia, and Bulgaria. With the increase over last week, there are 261 affiliates now distributing Current Time content. Between February 26 and March 5, Current Time videos have been viewed on Facebook 76 million times, while VOA’s Russian Service and RFE/RL’s Russian Service videos were each viewed about 8 million times.

From February 23 to March 2, VOA’s Russian Service reported nearly 17 million video views on social platforms, a 159% increase from the week before, while website traffic soared 146%. From February 23 to March 1, audiences viewed RFE/RL videos 436 million times on Facebook, 305 million times on YouTube, and 83 million times on Instagram – reflecting increases of 265%, 406%, and 185%, respectively, over the previous week.

[Source: USAGM press release; Image: AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky/Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo]

NHK WORLD programme highlights March

28 February 2022

NHK WORLD programme highlights March

NHK WORLD has selected the following highlights from its March programming:

The Michinoku Coastal Trail reveals both the grand nature of Japan’s Tohoku region and the struggles of people to recover from the 2011 earthquake. The 1,000 kilometer path connects four prefectures along the Pacific coast, between Aomori and Fukushima. Join Canadian actor Kyle Card on a trek across the trail as he meets residents and ponders what the future may hold for the region and the country.

Isamu Noguchi is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century’s greatest sculptors. With a Japanese father and an American mother, he felt inspired to create a cenotaph in memory of the atomic bomb victims after World War II. The proposed site was in Hiroshima, but the design was rejected, allegedly because of his American nationality. This year, materials from the cenotaph project are featuring a retrospective of Noguchi’s work across Europe, creating opportunities to ponder the meaning of peace in a time of division and conflict. The program includes newly released audio recordings of Noguchi and perspectives on his struggles to serve as a bridge between the two countries.

Dining with the Chef

Tuesdays 1:30 / 6:30 / 12:30 / 17:30 / 22:30

Traditional techniques and resourceful recipes! Chefs Saito and Rika, present their unique approaches to cooking delicious Japanese food.

Trails to Oishii Tokyo

Wednesdays 14:30 / 20:30 / 3:30 / 9:30

Delicious food from Tokyo’s markets! Learn about the amazing ingredients which are sourced from across Japan and sold at Tokyo’s fresh food markets.

Audiences turn to RFE/RL for reporting about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

25 February 2022

Audiences turn to RFE/RL for reporting about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

As the world awoke to unprovoked war in Europe, audiences turned to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for breaking news and analysis of the escalation. With journalists across the region and RFE/RL’s Ukrainian, Belarus, Russian, and Current Time networks providing on-the-ground coverage, RFE/RL is uniquely positioned to provide the facts to audiences across the region that are being bombarded by Kremlin disinformation.

RFE/RL’s networks recorded 13 million page views on their websites on February 24, representing a 159 percent increase over the previous day and a 248 percent increase over the same day one week before (February 17).
RFE/RL Ukrainian Service websites, which include content for audiences in Crimea and Donbas, alone recorded 4.7 million page views yesterday, a 313 percent increase over the previous day and 557 percent rise over the same day one week before.
Current Time’s live coverage of the early hours of the invasion was viewed more than 10 million times across social platforms, including YouTube and Facebook, reflecting a 25-fold increase over the same day the previous week for Current Time’s morning show.

Jamie Fly, President of RFE/RL, spoke of the importance of providing uncensored news and information and condemned Russia’s aggression: “With Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, our mission to share the facts with audiences that are denied that truth by their governments or that need independent information during a crisis is more important than ever.”

“Vladimir Putin initiated an unprecedented act of war against Ukrainian democracy today, but he has been assaulting the rights of the Russian people and undermining democracies for decades. We will continue to report the truth about him and the Kremlin’s lies and fabrications to our audiences in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and throughout the region during this critical moment.”

RFE/RL is staying close to the story, offering comprehensive, around-the-clock reporting from our journalists on all aspects affecting our audiences during this conflict. This includes coverage of events Russian authorities would rather ignore, such as the outbreak of anti-war protests across Russia, damage to civilian apartment buildings in Kharkiv as a result of Russian bombardment, and massive traffic jams caused by civilians trying to flee the attack on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. RFE/RL continues to counter Russian propaganda through our services’ live videos, in-depth reports and analysis, podcasts, photo galleries, maps, infographics and real-time blogging.

To stay up to date on the latest developments, follow RFE/RL’s Live Briefing: Ukraine Under Attack – updated throughout the day. Several RFE/RL services, including the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian and Current Time networks, are also live blogging the invasion, and RFE/RL has also created a list of its most relevant Twitter feeds.

In response to intensified attempts by Russia’s media monitoring agency Roskomnadzor to keep Russian audiences from accessing factual reporting on the invasion, RFE/RL’s Russian Service, Tatar-Bashkir Service, Crimea.Realities, and Current Time units are educating their audiences on a variety of means to bypass online censorship and safely access information. Such efforts to ensure access to RFE/RL content are especially relevant given Roskomnadzor’s recent attempts to force RFE/RL to take down content tied to corruption investigations by jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny’s team.

RFE/RL condemns six year sentence for Ukrainian Service journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko

16 February 2022

RFE/RL condemns six year sentence for Ukrainian Service journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) condemns today’s sentencing of RFE/RL freelance journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko to six years in prison by a Russian-controlled court in occupied Crimea.

Said RFE/RL President Jamie Fly, “This judgement against Vladyslav is a travesty. As a journalist doing nothing more than reporting the facts, he should never have been detained in the first place, much less put through the physical and mental torture that he has endured over the past eleven months. Vladyslav needs to be returned home to his wife and daughter immediately.”

Yesypenko, a dual Russian-Ukrainian citizen who contributes to Crimea.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Simferopol on March 10, 2021, on suspicion of collecting information for Ukrainian intelligence. Yesypenko left Crimea for mainland Ukraine with his wife, Kateryna, following the 2014 Russian annexation, where she gave birth to their daughter, Stephania; he would later return to Crimea periodically to report for RFE/RL on the social and environmental situation on the peninsula.

Following his detention, Yesypenko was brutally tortured by Russian FSB officers, to force him to make a false ‘confession’ on Russian television. Yesypenko was formally charged with possession and transport of explosives on July 15, 2021. He pleaded not guilty, facing up to 18 years in prison if convicted. The indictment made no mention of espionage or work for Ukrainian intelligence, as stated previously by the FSB.

Speaking at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington on October 21, 2021, Yesypenko’s wife read out an appeal from her husband. In the letter dictated from his jail cell, Yesypenko called on U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. lawmakers to do more to free the more than 100 political prisoners detained by the FSB over their activities in Crimea.

Sixteen Ukrainian human rights NGOs, Ukrainian Ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova, and the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv have denounced the verdict in online statements, as has Reporters Without Borders. In December 2021 Amnesty International launched an online petition demanding Yesypenko’s immediate release. Press-freedom advocates, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, along with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the U.S. State Department, are among those who have called for the same in the absence of any evidence of wrongdoing.
[Source: RFE/RL press release]

“Joelle Unfiltered”, the MENA region’s first reality TV show on Shahid VIP

9 February 2022

“Joelle Unfiltered”, the MENA region’s first reality TV show on Shahid VIP

Shahid VIP – the world’s leading Arabic SVOD streaming platform, and part of MBC GROUP – announces the arrival of the region’s very first reality TV show by Shahid Originals.

“Joelle Unfiltered” – starring Joelle Mardinian – is set to offer viewers a no holds barred look into the life of the star TV presenter and beauty mogul. Promising an insight into her life like never before, “Joelle Unfiltered” will showcase many aspects of Mardinian’s life, including her blended family, demanding career, very personal moments, and the challenges involved in juggling her business empire.

And to celebrate the programme’s debut this month, Shahid VIP hosted a special preview and press conference at DREAM restaurant in Dubai, that gathered Mardinian and her family alongside the region’s press, and influencers.

COMPLETELY UNFILTERED

Discussing the show, Mardinian told the audience that she would describe “Joelle Unfiltered” as an edutainment show, stating: “First, there’s the professional aspect, of which the show offers a focus on what it takes to run successful businesses – including how to establish, launch, and manage small ventures, investments, and larger commercial projects – while balancing fame and the social media aspect. Viewers will get to see all the massive challenges involved in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle sectors, and just what really goes into it.”

“Joelle Unfiltered” will include snippets of her blended family – providing an example of how families can successfully manage co-parenting and shedding light on her journey with adopting her youngest son. The show will take viewers to several locations as well – including Dubai, London, and the Maldives – and will also offer an insight into personal moments, such as Mardinian’s fears, sorrows, anxieties, success and more.

She continued: “While it is ‘unfiltered’ I am keen to point out that it also remains in line with the values and traditions of our society. The unfiltered aspect relates to showcasing the realities of my life – balancing motherhood and family with career, the fame, and my journey – it’s not all glitz and glamour as people may initially think.

“MBC GROUP has forever been a pioneer in unrivalled family entertainment, and I cannot wait for everyone to check out the show on Shahid VIP.”

ONE OF TV’S BIGGEST STARS

With nearly 18.5 million followers on Instagram alone, Mardinian is one of the Arab world’s biggest TV stars, having graced MBC’s channels with a number of lifestyle shows for over ten years now.

She’s also a successful businesswoman, known for Joelle Group, a leading beauty multi-conglomerate that includes Maison de Joelle, Clinica Joelle, and Joelle Paris.

Offering a final note on her upcoming reality show, Mardinian said: “I hope it inspires viewers and encourages them to chase their dreams and be creative. I hope it showcases how women can be empowered through their career, family support, and important partnerships and relationships.

“And as I have mentioned earlier, don’t be fooled by the glamour of it all… Of course, there are lots of highlights, but life does not just comprise happiness and luxury, and I am keen to showcase the reality of this lifestyle.

“Success definitely does not arrive overnight – there has been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears – stress, fatigue, plenty of late nights, and so much more. This is a 360-degree view of my life.”

“Joelle Unfiltered” has been in the making for 4 years, and debuts on Shahid VIP on 14 February 2022.

Shahid and Shahid VIP are part of MBC GROUP, the largest and leading media company in the MENA region.

[Source: Shahid press release]