Few signs of hardline agenda after Russian church’s TV station takeover
Channel 3 TV, Moscow
16 Feb 05
A Moscow Region television report has found little evidence of
conservative changes at a small TV station in the Urals recently
bought by the Russian Orthodox Church. Channel 3 TV, whose views
often coincide with the church’s, said Moscow media analysts were
wrong to assume that secular journalists would fail to work with the
new proprietor and that Islam and non-Orthodox Christian faiths would
not be represented in programmes. The following are excerpts from
“Reportazh” programme by Moscow Region Channel 3 TV on 16 February;
subheadings inserted editorially:
[Presenter] The creation of Russia’s first Orthodox Christian
television channel in the Urals has given rise to a lot of rumours and
controversy in Moscow. Human rights activists in Moscow believe that
in this way the Orthodoxy is encroaching on secular life. Furthermore,
an Orthodox television might infringe on the rights of Muslims who
live in the Urals. It was reported in the press that all the former
staff of the Soyuz TV company were dismissed. Journalists are shocked;
they are complaining about the Orthodox Church and protesting. What
is really happening around the Orthodox television channel? Aleksandr
Yegortsev reports.
Church builds multiplatform media empire
[Newsreader presenting the programme] Hello and welcome to the
latest issue of “Eparchy [diocese]: Events of the Week”. I’m Anton
Pepelyayev. In the next 30 minutes –
[Correspondent – interrupting recording] Russia’s first Orthodox
television channel has begun to broadcast in the Urals this year. It
has taken the Yekaterinburg eparchy almost 10 years to get a television
station of its own.
[Dmitriy Baybakov, head of the Yekaterinburg eparchy’s information
and publishing department, captioned] It all started with a parochial
Orthodox newspaper, a church newspaper on two small sheets. Now it
is a church weekly. Several more newspapers have been added to it,
as well as a children’s magazine, a web site and a news agency. We
have a printing works and a 24-hour radio.
[Passage omitted]
[Correspondent] The town of Pervouralsk lies 40 km away from
Yekaterinburg. There, in a hotel building, the limited liability
company Soyuz Television Company is based. The previous owners met
the eparchy halfway and sold the station to the Orthodox Church for
a comparatively low price.
[Passage omitted: journalists say station’s original name was retained
after change of ownership]
Rights activists were wrong
[Correspondent] The rumour that the Yekaterinburg eparchy had purchased
a TV company reached Moscow. That was just the sort of thing that
bored human rights activists in Moscow had been waiting for. Without
getting to know what’s what, news agencies rushed to stir up a scandal.
[Baybakov] Some sort of Council of Europe experts held news conferences
in Moscow to say this was a very dangerous precedent for Russia.
[Correspondent] Instantly, serious accusations were levelled against
the Yekaterinburg eparchy. One accusation was that the eparchy had
broken the law. The statute of the Russian Orthodox Church does not
have a clause to allow it to engage in television-related activities.
[Baybakov] Pardon me, but the statute of the Russian Orthodox Church
does not mention even things such as using telephones or computers.
[Correspondent] Accusation No 2: the creation of an Orthodox TV
channel is inappropriate towards Muslims. A lot of ethnic Tatars live
in the Urals.
[Baybakov] The Muslim programme will remain on the channel. In
principle, we would be very willing to have ethnic diasporas on the
channel, so there are programmes about national cultures – Armenian,
Belarusian, Ukrainian, Tatar, Russian – all cultures.
[Correspondent] Finally, the third accusation, the most damaging one
in the eyes of Moscow human rights activists, was that after buying the
Pervouralsk TV station, the Yekaterinburg eparchy dismissed the entire
staff. The journalists are shocked and angry and they are protesting.
[Vladimir Antipin, director of Soyuz television company, captioned]
None of the staff were dismissed. Not a single member of staff
resigned. It’s all how it used to be. I still have a staff of 23
people and, for that matter, five extra people have been taken on.
[Olga Litvinova, correspondent, captioned] We work in the same way
as we used to work. All the staff are where they were. And there have
been no restrictions.
News agenda
[Correspondent] At present, Russia’s first Orthodox TV station is
made up of two teams, who have yet to become friends. But already,
secular journalists and eparchy journalists are working for the same
projects. [Passage omitted] Orthodox programmes are still made for
Soyuz by the eparchy’s own studio. [Passage omitted]
Eparchy news bulletins are broadcast every day. [Passage omitted]
One day in the life of an Orthodox film crew. It’s difficult for
people who film to be filmed. Important visitors are flying in late in
the evening for the Yekaterinburg eparchy’s anniversary: Metropolitan
Kliment, the manager of Moscow Patriarchy’s property, and other senior
clerics. For Soyuz, this is the top story of the day. [Passage omitted]
Late at night, the Moscow delegation comes to the Yekaterinburg
eparchy’s Orthodox TV studio. The Moscow visitors goes straight on
the air on the Orthodox radio station.
At midnight, the camera man watches the footage. Spiritual shots on
a spiritual channel have to be bright.
Women journalists banned from wearing trousers
For newsreaders and correspondents, the channel’s peculiarity entails
other rules. No clinging garments and no make-up.
[Baybakov] Many just began to wear beautiful women’s clothing and
it is all fine and very stylish. I go round paying them compliments,
although perhaps this is not very appropriate for me.
[Correspondent] The journalists have compromised. If anyone ever
smokes on Orthodox TV, they do so only in the corridor. Skirts are
worn on top of jeans as working clothes.
[Antipin] To be honest, I have two male staff journalists and the rest
are girls. If she has to go to a freezing settlement, what goddamn
skirt, if you pardon the expression, is she going to wear there? It’s
more convenient to wear trousers. Well, the boss is the boss, so they
put on aprons on top when they come back. What else would they do?
[Baybakov] If you go about it gently, the understanding that the
Orthodox approach is the right one will gradually come.
[Correspondent] Only six months ago, the management of the small
Urals-based Soyuz TV channel could not imagine it becoming known
nationwide. The debate that has unfolded over the idea of Orthodox
television has made provincial news programme makers the main story
from the Urals. Today, the neighbouring regions are speaking about
Soyuz’s experience. Talks about possible rebroadcast are already
under way.