The big news of the century is no longer news: the world of lambs and sheep is led by goats, because they have the initiative. And the television is their loyal assistant, which stupefies the herd and helps lead them for milking and sheering, or to slaughter them.
The older generation has already gotten into the internet, but most of them have not learned how to use it to search for up-to-date information and verify data. They are used to watching ready-made stories on TV. In a way, they have spent the entire period of self-isolation "stuck in the box". And while the television is "the supreme art" for the older generation, Mr. Putin can be calm – most of the voters of the older generation, and some of the younger "sprouts" have been infected with "Putinism of the brain". They believe in him, their personal hero, to the very last; to complete absurdity. No matter what happens in the country, it is not the president's fault, he and some members of the government are always on the alert. Everything that is not done is for the best, even if the best is a mass famine that has begun in Russia.
Of course, since the time of Stalin, propaganda has ceased to be the openly old-fashioned type- designed for limited mental abilities and has become "smarter" and "thinner". For example, why lie in the open when it's easier to not bring up a particular topic? Why talk about defeats, when you can talk about success. And if there is no success, it is necessary to stupefy those who watch the idiot box by demonstrating the top’s "daily grind", filled with concern for the people or islands of prosperity in the economy, after all the population "has had quite enough of the dark sides of life" - they need positive news.
According to the TV, our polovtsy-and-pechenegs lover is at his best as usual – healthy and 100% confident. His well-modulated, at times mellifluous, voice with the intonations of a wise statesman informs the true Putinist believers: "Everything is under control, guys!" Putin's press secretary – the billionaire, Mr. Peskov who so successfully married an actress who immediately began earning 6 times more than him, and is also the owner of real estate in England for 10 million pounds – is too busy with their assets and does not particularly pamper Mr. President with interesting and deep speeches, and even, sometimes, according to Putin himself, he speaks ad lib and talks trash. But all this is not terrible – the older generation is used to simple and unassuming food, the remnants of the school knowledge of Mr. President himself will be enough for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
And if it weren't for the sheer helplessness and stupidity of TV productions of the government and the president, you might even believe that they work. But those who observe as the president rolls a pencil out of boredom, and as members of the government and governors play with their phones during a teleconference – very highly appreciate the engagement of the statesmen in the work.
And the last joint "circus act" of Mr. President and Mr. Murashko is simply a masterpiece. A month and a half after creating the order on financial support for doctors, the president finally deigned to read its wording from the Minister of Health. And finally, he understood why doctors aren’t getting the bonuses they were promised. You should have seen how he, being red and clearly enraged, tried to restrain himself and "intelligently" lecture the "Professor and Doctor of Medical Sciences" who had long forgotten what solidarity of doctors is and tried to "ride" with the money of colleagues who really risk their lives every day and work hard. The president, unlike Mr. Minister, has the sense to understand that such a clear deception and sabotage of promises by the those in power will not be forgiven. However Mr. Murashko clearly feels like a big fishing seiner, which is not concerned about any storm and is as cold as a fish thrown on the ice.
So, let's see what news "they have been feeding the people with" over the past month and a half on channels like Channel One, Russia-1 and NTV.
Channel One
The news on Channel One is an endless summary of the situation with coronavirus in the world, Russia, the United States, and Italy. The assistance provided by Russia. In Russia, the set of measures that will become "a support during the fight against coronavirus" has begun to operate and endless meetings of Putin about the pandemic.
Interestingly, the channel's professionalism is not enough to show what the results of these meetings are. That is, the considerable activity of the president is depicted, let's say directly – he just "faffs about" on the screen, posing more and more often on a chair like a model.
Permanent reports of the operational team on the increase in the number of infected people are published.
And, a separate news, judging by how much time is spent on this – it is Ernst's pride; Putin's congratulations to the channel on their quarter-century anniversary (25 years of a very non-poor existence thanks to close cooperation with the government).
In Moscow and the regions, responsibility for violating the quarantine during the coronavirus epidemic is established.
The fact that the channel is absolutely loyal to those in power is obvious. Therefore, the "most professional" channel, "setting the bar for everyone else in Russia" (according to Mr. Ernst) does not mention "such little things" that an official quarantine was not introduced, that the regions do not have the right to make changes in legislation and police action to restrict the freedom of citizens is absolutely unconstitutional and illegal.
The channel does not comment on the fact that Rospotrebnadzor introduced 100% test for coronavirus in all Russians returning from other countries only in April.
Exclusive. Channel One is the first to report on the president's self-isolation in the Novo-Ogaryovo bunker and that for the first time a government meeting is dedicated only to coronavirus.
And there will be no other news about the president's activity. Mr. President gives everyone complete freedom – doctors to treat, governors to create a strategy for their region and support the economy. Of course, all of Mr. Putin's speeches every two weeks are presented as helping the population and business in the fight against coronavirus, but for some reason they are not told and are not compared with what kind of help the countries of Europe and the United States provide to their population.
It would be enough to compare – what the presidents of these countries have done: they gave out real amounts of funds to each adult and for child support, they paid for housing, mobile communications and the internet, they distributed food and partially closed loans, etc. – with the fact that nothing like this has been done in Russia, to assess Mr. President’s work which is equal to zero.
But Channel One's "professionals" can't risk their jobs and salaries.
What is the news on the international stage?
Summing up the work of President Zelensky. The Russian Embassy in the United States demands that the American agency Bloomberg refute and apologize for incorrect data on the number of beds per 100,000 people in Russia, discussing gas tariffs and Trump accusing the World Health Organization of "excessive sympathy" for China.
In Syria, the US military is actively helping the militants by supplying weapons and equipment. At the same time, it is claimed that more and more militants are switching to the side of the government. Although in reality, the militants have bombarded and continue to bombard the territory.
A rise in oil prices and not a word about the lost war, created by Sechin-Putin, and not a word about the leniency of Saudi Arabia, which returned the arrogant Russian politicians to the "stall" of OPEC+.
Channel One reports that Europe is beginning to return to "normal life", but the news about this is not in prime time and is separate from the information about the imposition of emergency mode in Moscow. They talk about Maria Zakharova’s statement: "a campaign of disinformation against Russia in connection with coronavirus is launched in the world ". The "global conspiracy against Russia" refers to the lack of confidence of other countries in official statistics on the number of people infected with coronavirus in Russia. Both Ms. Zakharova and Channel One hypocritically do not report that:
- They are silent on how, generally, the statistics of infected and dead from the virus are conducted in bad faith.
- The production of tests from Evotech-Mirai Genomics LLC, which is directly related to Putin's friend Mr. Timchenko and the president's daughter Katerina Tikhonova, did not reach its full capacity until May and could not produce the required number of tests, which of course affected the number of tests performed and statistics on the number of infected people.
But yes, "we’re surrounded by enemies", WHO is "plotting against us". Well, a very professional coverage of events.
Russia-1 Channel
These ones are more honest and interesting. In the news about coronavirus, there are more stories from experts talking about how the virus affects the immune system, and how healers try to fight it in alternative ways, less formal and a lot of entertainment stories about "small pleasures of small people".
More honestly, they talk about the problems of small and medium-sized businesses as a result of the introduction of self-isolation, and how Russian tourists who find themselves abroad survive. No generalizations about the crisis in the Russian economy.
But the problems of other countries' economies are told frankly and "uncut". Statistics of unemployment growth in different countries, but not in Russia, are provided.
If there is news that demonstrates the incompetence of the president and the government – then they are served absolutely "with a different sauce", so that there is not even a hint that the authorities are being criticized. For example, the fact that the Russian Ministry of Health could not provide disposable masks to the population and doctors for about two months after the introduction of the "self-isolation regime" looks like "270 million disposable masks were delivered From China". How much they cover the needs of the country, how they will be distributed, etc – is not indicated.
Putin's speeches "for coronavirus" and any actions of the governors were reviewed without analysis and even more so without criticism.
A very interesting report on the police suppression of the "gathering of migrants". Several hundred entrepreneurs protested against the increase in the cost of renting space in the Food City market on Kaluga Highway. The administration of the market did not care that the entrepreneurs suffer losses due to the self-isolation regime. They called the police and Rosgvardiya that broke up the "violators of the regime of self-isolation". It was emphasized that the "violators" gathered in one place without masks and gloves, and without maintaining "social distancing". All this is undoubtedly more important than the reason for their gathering. The emphasis on violation of the regime was more important than social justice, and thus it prevailed in the report.
World news – events are with a low level of analysis. In Syria, another terrorist attack, "bloody Americans" buy the hands of the militants. The only valuable information is in one story that the war in Syria is for Russia to protect its investments in the Middle East.
Some very "intense" facts turned up - Russia for the sake of "good relations" with Iraq "forgave" the partner's debt of $12.9 billion. And in Syria, despite conducting military operations and huge investment risks, it is going to invest $500 million for the development of the seaport of Tartus, $200 million for the restoration of a fertilizer plant in Homs. All this is in addition to supplies of Russian grain and $17 million in cash as humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, it is not directly to the Syrian people, but through the UN. If only the government so helped its own people during the pandemic- everyone would have carried Putin in their hands.
Nothing is said about the attitude of Syrians to Russia and the Russians "fighting for them", and perhaps, it is for the better. It is not necessary to upset the viewers, they will still switch to the competitor's channel.
It is also not directly stated, but it is very subtly hinted that Russia will not win the fight against China and the United States, which have overloaded the Arab countries with loans and other forms of support, in terms of influence in the region. But all these are small things, the main thing is that our military equipment is in demand and is still rated by the Arabs.
Ukraine- Zelensky, USA- Trump and the list goes on. Hundreds of small events overload the mind.
NTV
NTV was once considered an independent channel of Russian television, a role model. But not for long, after a few years, control was transferred from the creators of the channel to Gazprom, and in fact the state returned "political censorship". Undoubtedly, the face and language of NTV differs from Channel One – it is much more entertaining and is closer to the "tabloids" in its nature: more catchy and sharp headlines, bright presentation, point attacks against the authorities, more "intense facts" about celebrities, but "political correctness" affects the format and content of news in politics and the economy.
The victory of the Russian Embassy, which still got the American agency Bloomberg to make corrections to the materials about COVID-19 in Russia (let me remind you, they incorrectly indicated the number of beds per capita in hospitals) is presented almost as a victory in the Second World War. The Russian Embassy in the USA: Fake data from the World Bank illustrated the following conclusion: "insufficient funding, incomplete reforms, lack of medical supplies and equipment". This is all true, that’s why the embassy succeeded in getting correction of the materials, but not official denials and apologies. But, you understand- a victory for Russian diplomacy, everything else is unimportant.
Putin and the government, the law enforcement agencies and governors, like the Queen of Great Britain, are beyond any suspicion of dishonesty and incompetence.
However, the channel's management and journalists do not need to do anything to show the idiocy of their superiors – just re-place their speeches. If Mr. Putin says that "doctors would have received additional payments for the fight against coronavirus in time, if the government clearly and transparently included the principles and ways to bring them in the decree", then, of course, it is true. But for the narrow-minded Putinists, no one comments on the information that the head of government and the president first signed the relevant document, and they bothered to read what they signed only a month and a half later, when complaints came from the regions…
And actually, the channel's journalists try not to generalize or compare the situation in the regions in any way. Finally, in mid-May, conscripts were tested for coronavirus and given masks in St. Petersburg. But we will not check the situation in other cities with millions of people, and even more so in small cities. God forbid it turns out that there is a "mess" in most of them. What is the point of spending time and money on conducting a journalistic investigation, making an objective report, if it is not allowed to be broadcast?
Of course, stories about violators of the regime of self-isolation who have fallen ill with coronavirus are particularly good. The government is happy to skip the "horror stories" that support the decision to tighten the self-isolation regime.
The selection of news "about the attack of dogs on people" in a separate news group, which is constantly updated describes the "tabloidness" of the channel. No federal channel has devoted so much time to this topic. Amid this, the wars in Syria and Ukraine are fading.
No stories about corruption with the exception of those persons in respect of whom the "bite!" command was given. Yes please - about the ordinary bad Kuban deputy who shot dogs or about the fine of majors for violation of traffic rules.
Advantage - the problems in Syria, Ukraine, and the independent republics are covered in much more detail than on Channel One and Russia-1 – more objectively, more rigidly.
To sum up
"Publication in the media of any fake materials in these difficult times destroys the reputation of publications. This applies to any false information: whether it is about events in Syria, whether it is about international affairs, whether it is about coronavirus... " This is the pathetic statement from Putin's press Secretary Dmitry Peskov https://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=3259230
Mr. Peskov, apparently, fully approves of the low level of analysis, bravura reports about the individual successes of individual scientists and doctors amid the general destruction in medicine and science, the loyalty to Mr. Putin and his associates in government and business, the concealment of facts that expose incompetence and corruption in the highest authorities. The toothless PR of the presidential administration is covered by the "fig leaf " of censorship on TV channels controlled by the government and oligarchs.
The television is less and less trying to directly "brainwash", but it clogs the brain with more garbage, official stuff and a lot of "positives". Journalists hold on to their seats, that’s why they don't allow themselves any open opposition. Truly, for what, it is enough to let the federal officials talk, as they will expose themselves in all their artless stupidity. And if more than 60% of the population still supports Putin, it says more about the population and the level of social awareness, than about the television.