What is Sputnik News?

[Nye Bevan]

Sputnik is an international multimedia service launched on 10 November 2014 by Rossiya Segodnya, an agency wholly owned and operated by the Russian government, which was created by a Decree of the President of Russia on December 9, 2013.[2] Sputnik replaces the RIA Novosti news agency on an international stage (which remains active in Russia)[3] and Voice of Russia.

....

Alexander Podrabinek, a Russian journalist who works for Radio France Internationale[6][7] (a French public radio service that operates under the auspices and primary budget of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty[8] (a 501(c)(3) corporation that receives U.S. government funding and is supervised by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a nonprofit agency overseeing all U.S. federal government international broadcasting services), has called Sputnik a tool of Russian state propaganda distribution abroad,[5] and has likened it to a pro-Putin version of the Daily Mail and described it as "anti-Western".[9]

Wikipedia link

So any time a real-life friend points you to a Sputnik "news" story, just bear in mind that it's effectively a Kremlin press release.

BTW it's quite curious that the "About Us" page on Sputnik "News" itself does not mention that it is Russian-government controlled:

http://sputniknews.com/docs/about/index.html

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. The same could be said of BBC, Deutsche Welle, NHK, and others.

[OxQQme]

2. And CNN, MSNBC, FOXNEWS, et al...n/t

[hfojvt]

3. PBS?

Is Russia then, really no different than the UK?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Russia is different than the UK. So is the USA. So is Burundi.

Do all of the countries exert some kind of press control? Yes.

Does Russia? Yes, and much more than most other countries.

[kwassa]

7. What bullshit.

These are not run by their respective governments, unlike Sputnik.

[GGJohn]

8. +1000. eom.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. Are you saying that the respective governments have no influence on them?

I beg to differ.

[kwassa]

15. Provide proof.

This should be interesting.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. Google BBC, Deutsche Welle, NHK, for examples.

You may very well find it "interesting".

[kwassa]

26. No, you make the assertion, you provide the proof.

You haven't, so your assertion is worthless.

[Duckhunter935]

28. they can't

[treestar]

22. They criticize those governments at will!

And say whatever they want about them!

[Duckhunter935]

29. yes they do

lets see Putin's RT and Sputnik do that,

[Duckhunter935]

27. owned is different

and you know it

[treestar]

21. [phone]

[tabasco]

11. No, it couldn't.

But thanks for playing.

[moondust]

12. Except that

state-owned Russian media have a fairly recent history of serving as propaganda channels for a totalitarian regime, and their current cult leader President was in fact a secret agent in the service of that regime who has himself been accused of behaviors characteristic of totalitarian regimes including political murders and expansionism by force.

[betterdemsonly]

17. Well you advocate denying pro-Russians in the Crimea heat and electricity in the Winter time

so you shoiuld be an expert on totalitarian control.

[moondust]

23. Wrong.

I say if Russia or anybody else is going to do a land grab to steal part of some other country it automatically becomes their responsibility to provide utilities, infrastructure, and other services to that region. Nobody should expect the victim of the land grab to continue providing anything to the stolen region.

You'd better ask Pooty for a shot of vodka.

[Duckhunter935]

32. people are crazy

Russia is in occupation and needs to support the occupied people. The contract to Crimea for electricity expired and Ukraine decided to make Russia fully responsible.

[leveymg]

4. Sputnik isn't merely a Russian propaganda agency-it covers breaking news, culture and sports events.

It's a regional wire service type news aggregator and content provider, in some ways akin to NPR, that reports a wide variety of events with a focus primarily in Russian Federation/Eastern Europe. It has a large audience in that region.

[kwassa]

9. But it still is a propoganda agency.

Take everything it says in that light.

[leveymg]

13. I've noticed that's the case with the National Petroleum Radio, as well.

There was a major rightward lurch in content with apparent biases prevalent after the GOP cut appropriations to the PBS/NPR budget and they had to begin relying on big "supporters", such as the Petroleum Institute for funding. I actually used to enjoy public broadcasting and news back in the days when it was more independent of commercial influence.

[kwassa]

14. Bullshit comparison.

NPR is not owned by the US government.

[betterdemsonly]

19. Who owns it then?

Why is it so damn right wing?

[kwassa]

25. funding sources

In 2010, NPR revenues totaled $180 million, with the bulk of revenues coming from programming fees, grants from foundations or business entities, contributions and sponsorships.[20] According to the 2009 financial statement, about 50% of NPR revenues come from the fees it charges member stations for programming and distribution charges.[20] Typically, NPR member stations receive funds through on-air pledge drives, corporate underwriting, state and local governments, educational institutions, and the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). In 2009, member stations derived 6% of their revenue from federal, state and local government funding, 10% of their revenue from CPB grants, and 14% of their revenue from universities.[20][32] While NPR does not receive any direct federal funding, it does receive a small number of competitive grants from CPB and federal agencies like the Department of Education and the Department of Commerce. This funding amounts to approximately 2% of NPR's overall revenues.[20]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPR

[leveymg]

24. Used to be public broadcasting was publicly funded, like

Wait for it,

[GGJohn]

6. Sputnik News is to the Russian govt what Pravda was to the Soviet govt.

a govt propaganda arm to disseminate the govt point of view.

[betterdemsonly]

18. They invite American liberals to participate in their panels unlike anyone in the socalled Free

media of the West, which only feature neocons and neoliberals These are both conservative philosophies. I frankly enjoy them more than any of the stupid corporate propagandists here in the United States, or the other English speaking countries. I won't stop listening to them. They also cover other things besides Trump, shopping, car crashes, and pop psychology. I don't see them as any different from the bbc, or cbc except they are less neocon. Al Jazeera is much more enjoyable to those who like serious debate and news, than the corporatists too.

[betterdemsonly]

20. Many of our networks are owned by corporations with investments in Arms manufacturing

and Wall Street and it shows. Anyone who disagreed with the Iraq war and other military conflicts is persona non grata in the American media. Anyone who doesn't agree with privatization of schools and social security or is a critic of free trade, might as well not exist as far as the major news networks are concerned. Climate change and poverty are ignored in favor of grotesque personalities like Trump and ambulance chaser stories, not to mention stories designed to sell products. Important issues are rarely covered in favor of bullshit. Fox news is owned by a right winger who promotes international austerity, in every country he own a press, yet you don't notice. There is not a complete blackout of the Bernie Sanders campaign on Sputnik like there is in the American media. I am guessing most here would enjoy sputnik much more than the bullshit in cnn, fox and now msnbc. There is no objectivity and the American media is the shittiest in the world.

[ronnie624]

31. Very well said. n/t

[Nye Bevan]

34. Nothing wrong with reading and enjoying Sputnik News.

I myself find it highly entertaining on occasion.

[MADem]

30. Everything is owned by Russian Government now!!!!!

It's the All Putin, All The Time Media!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vladimir-putin-russia-news-media_56215944e4b0bce34700b1df

[steve2470]

33. and check this out MADem, Putin finally admitted the obvious!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027491574

Putin admits Russian military presence in Ukraine for first time

Vladimir Putin has for the first time admitted the presence of Russian military specialists in east Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly denied a military presence in the conflict, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. But the Russian president conceded there were military intelligence officers operating in the country in a marathon press conference on Thursday.

Asked by a Ukrainian reporter an hour into the briefing about two Russian military intelligence officers captured by Kiev and currently on trial in Ukraine, Putin said: “We never said there were not people there who carried out certain tasks including in the military sphere.” He insisted this was not the same as regular Russian troops.

There was no opportunity for a follow-up question to examine how many military specialists Putin believes were in Ukraine and what exact tasks they were carrying out. At key moments in the conflict in east Ukraine there has been much evidence of regular Russian army involvement.

This effectively puts the kibosh on a few very pro-Putin posters we have here.

[Duckhunter935]

35. he did the same last year

After denying his troops were in Crimea (outside their bases) for a year he finally admitted his troops helped in the storming of the navel ships and Ukrainian bases.

[steve2470]

36. oh yea that's right! thanks for reminding me! nt

[Tarheel_Dem]

37. What's shocking about that article is that the Russian people could care less about press freedom.

They're spoon-fed by the Kremlin, they're told who their enemies are, and they like it. Unlike the Putin pushers here, who demand openness & transparency from western governments, they seem to hold Putin to a much different standard. And then there's the fake analogies re: corporate media & media outlets "wholly" owned and operated by the State. It's like comparing apples to a flat tire. Newsflash: there is no comparison.