Why socialists should have nothing to do with RT (Russia Today)

[uhnope]

I don't know about this blog but this piece speaks the truth. I recommend reading all of it.

https://shirazsocialist.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/why-socialists-should-have-nothing-to-do-with-russia-today/

RT uses the language of the mainstream left to cover politics that are fundamentally reactionary and that serve Russian imperial interests.

Of course that’s not how the TV channel describes itself. “RT news covers the major issues of our time for viewers wishing to question more,” says their website, “and delivers stories often missed by the mainstream media to create news with an edge.”

By “news with an edge”, they may sometimes mean that quite literally – and the edge belongs to a Russian bayonet.
...
Let’s be absolutely clear about what RT actually is. This is a state organ of the Putin regime and though it occasionally uses the language of the left (when attacking Russia’s rivals) the one thing consistent about its coverage is its uncritical support of Russian imperialism.

Honest leftists should refuse to have anything to do with RT, shouldn’t watch it, should refuse to be interviewed by it, and certainly should not host shows on it.

READ MORE https://shirazsocialist.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/why-socialists-should-have-nothing-to-do-with-russia-today/

[randys1]

1. It saddens me Thom feels the need to be on RT, now I hear Ed Schultz will be

Now Ed isnt remotely in the same league as Thom, and Ed is kind of not really a liberal, per se, but still.

I like Ed on TPP but other than that, not so much.

[silvershadow]

6. Ed starts his daily 1/2 hour show the last week on January. nt

[Warpy]

2. I don't like people who should on me

That being said, some of RT's reporting is good and some of their raw video without commentary is outstanding. You do always have to take their editorial bias into account, so it's useless for stories on The Ukraine, for instance.

It's always better to know who to trust and exactly how far to trust them instead of having a lightswitch, throw the baby out with the bathwater mentality like the author of the article in the OP.

[tazkcmo]

3. I'm not scared

I'm a big boy now but thank you for the warning.

[Silent_Greene]

4. *

*The USSR was anything but socialist, and Putin is a plain old-fashioned dictator.

[stonecutter357]

5. K&R!

[SCantiGOP]

7. And another K&R

Couldn't believe a thread here a few days ago where people were saying that RT was more objective than our "corporate media."

[YOHABLO]

8. I remember listening to Randi Rhodes often. Her show was the only progressive show on a right wing

owned and operated network. But she got her message out. I don't see why it matters. If they're not censoring Thom's program, or Ed's for that matter, it's a means to an end.

[liberalnarb]

9. Why didn't I know this?

RT, originally Russia Today, is a Russian government-funded television network which runs cable and satellite television channels directed to audiences outside the Russian Federation, as well as Internet

Now the only show I actually watch on there is Thom's show. I did some research and read that his show is completely run and funded by his company. But holy crap. Russian government funded?

[uhnope]

10. exactly. Funny that many people don't know

[bananas]

11. Just like BBC, NHK, DW, etc. nt

[Doctor_J]

12. Last week you told us we can't read Counterpunch either

You sound like Limpballs. Why should leftist media like Counterpunch and the Thom Hartmann Program be avoided? Hartmann needs his voice to be heard. Right wing, establishment, and DLC type media like broadcast TV, cable "news", and broadcast radio won't let anything to the left of the Clintons on the air. Is there a list of media that conservatives have approved for reading by liberals?

Thanks but we're grown up and can assimilate various viewpoints and make our conclusions.

[Jefferson23]

13. Unfortunately people like Thom do not have the fair amount of coverage they deserve

in the US markets. Thank you 1996 Telecommunications Act.

As a result we see too many good people using RT by default and their viewers should
know that Russians do not see RT America. It also makes it more difficult
for Russians who are in opposition to the Putin regime..we are in effect lending
legitimacy to their establishment. Their activists don't appreciate it.

[FairWinds]

14. OK. so I checked your "shiraz socialist" source and it's got . .

NOTHING !!

Just name calling, not a single EXAMPLE of RT propaganda . .

If you want to persuade people who can read, that is not the way to do it !!

[uhnope]

15. Did you even read it? It's not name-calling, it's analysis

and the writer cited examples of what he experienced. It seems you didn't read it. And if you actually need examples at this point in time, you're not paying any kind of attention.

But then again you push Kremlin propaganda sometimes yerself so...