Cash-poor Russian media debate funding By Genine Babakia

MOSCOW--Officials from 90 television and radio stations throughout Russia interrupted their summer vacations to gather in Moscow earlier this month to discu

For months Russia’s airwaves have been caught in the middle of a political tug-of-war between President Yeltsin and his opponents in Parliament. In an attempt to wrest control of the largely pro-Yeltsin press, Russia’s Parliament passed a law on mass media which, among other things, calls for the establishment of “observation boards” to oversee programming activities. “It’s censorship,” said one television rep from Saratov, of the boards’ interference. “It’s against the law.”
Even as broadcasters are outraged by government intervention, some are still asking for increased government funding. When asked why local stations did not boost their ad revenue to support themselves, one TV exec said that governmental TV shouldn’t waste air time on advertising.
But while they may not love the idea, many TV executives consider advertising to be a necessary evil to supplement government funding. Stations here earn an average of 3-5% of revenues from foreign imports. “We live in Russia–we should be advertising Russian-made products. We just don’t have any,” said one TV exec from Russia’s far eastern reaches. “I’m from Sakhalin. What are we going to advertise? Fish?”
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