5/5
Since taking office, Prime Minister Fico has also refused to communicate with some private media, including TV Markíza, the dailies Sme and Denník N, and the news portal Aktuality.sk, which he considers "enemy media". He has even tried to restrict their access to news conferences held at the government office.
#SNFF #media #FreePress #IndependentJournalism #StateControlledMedia
4/5
Last week, a bunch of young men led by the head of Fico’s council of advisors Erik Kaliňák, nephew of defence minister Robert Kaliňák (also of Smer), ambushed and harassed another DenníkN political columnist, Marián Leško, on a street in Bratislava, trying to videotape his reactions to various accusations thrown at him by E. Kaliňák.
#SNFF #media #FreePress #IndependentJournalism #StateControlledMedia
3/5
On Thursday, Fico’s Smer party filed a criminal complaint against #DenníkN journalist Martin M. Šimečka for “defaming the nation” over his statement that Fico is the prime minister of “a small cowardly nation” made during a public ‘How to Save Democracy’ discussion in January.
https://mstdn.social/@SlovakNewsFF/111935701792452116
#SNFF #media #FreePress #IndependentJournalism #StateControlledMedia
2/5
Earlier this week, deputy parliamentary speaker Andrej Danko of the nationalist SNS party told the Slovak TV news channel TA3 that the state should take the full control of the public broadcaster #RTVS, adding this idea also had the support of PM Robert Fico. He even went on saying that under Fico's previous government, he personally was in charge of who could host political debates televised by RTVS.
https://mstdn.social/@SlovakNewsFF/111925136049883043
1/5
Slovak opposition MP Vladimíra Marcinková of the liberal SaS party has wrote to #EC vise-president for values and #transparency Věra Jourová, whose agenda also includes plurality in the media sector, expressing concerns over recent attacks of #SlovakGovernment officials on independent journalists and media. She has sent a similar letter to the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (#ECPMF).
#SNFF #media #FreePress #IndependentJournalism #StateControlledMedia
Kremlin set up guidelines for media coverage of Karabakh crisis
By Angela Hassassian
The independent Russian news agency Meduza says it has exposed Kremlin's guidelines sent to media, which emphasized framing the Nagorno-Karabakh narrative to depict Armenia and its Western "partners" as the primary culprits for the current crisis. The same guidelines push for the portrayal of Russian peacekeepers as heroes rescuing civilians amidst ongoing shelling.
Sent by the presidential administration to state and pro-Kremlin media employees on the evening of September 19, the manual recommends blaming Armenia and Western nations by underscoring that "the Armenian leadership has recognized the sovereignty of Azerbaijan over Karabakh."
The guidelines advise media representatives to reference statements made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in October 2022, in which he recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial sovereignty.
One excerpt from the manual states, "Most likely, the Armenian Prime Minister was pushed to make this statement by his Western 'partners,' who should fully share responsibility for the consequences with him." The Kremlin's guidance implies that the Armenian leadership's decision gave Azerbaijan the green light for a full takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh․
The Kremlin recommends portraying Russian peacekeepers' status as "observant" and highlighting their role in assisting the "evacuation of civilians." The manual also suggests emphasizing that civilians are seeking "shelter" in an Orthodox church near the Russian peacekeeping contingent.
These narratives have already surfaced in the Russian tabloid newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, which claims that "Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agrees that Karabakh is Azerbaijan" and implies that the Armenian government wishes to distance itself from Karabakh and move toward the West.
Another statement published in Lenta.ru, a Russian-language online newspaper, asserts that "the Karabakh issue is essentially becoming an internal matter of Azerbaijan."
Simultaneously, the manual encourages pro-government media employees to highlight the alleged successes of Russian troops in Ukraine.
The post Kremlin set up guidelines for media coverage of Karabakh crisis appeared first on CIVILNET.
#reportsinenglish #artsakh #artsakhconflict #censorship #governmentagenda #kremlin #kremlinagenda #mediamanipulation #medianarrative #mediatransparency #meduza #nagornokarabakh #nagornokarabakhconflict #pressfreedom #russianmedia #russianpolitics #russianpropaganda #statecontrolledmedia
