The announcement by Ukrainian Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn that CNN were planning to open a bureau in Kiev has led to a blunt denial from a CNN spokesman:
“International news network CNN would like to clarify that it has no plans to open a bureau or a new channel in Ukraine, despite reports today in the Ukrainian media,” Claudia Coles said in a phone interview with RIA Novosti.
“CNN’s Moscow bureau has been an integral part of the network’s operations since it opened in 1983 and continues to report on the region’s pivotal role in the global news agenda, including news out of Ukraine,” Coles said. “We remain committed to bringing the region’s stories to the attention of our global audience.”
Denial or not, I do wonder whether the current pressures that Putin is placing on the press (trying saying that three times quickly while slightly inebriated) in Russia is leading large media organisations to consider whether it would be wise to move their Russia/FSU operations to a slightly freer city than Moscow. True, Moscow is the hub of the FSU and, all other things being equal, the best site for a media bureau. But there may come a time when this benefit is outweighed by the need to work free of outside pressures.
The idea of CNN, the BBC, et al moving to Kiev might sound far fetched at the moment, but I wonder how silly it might seem a few years down the line if the situation in Russia continues to deteriorate…
