RM Broadcasting has to register as a foreign agent

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t...dio-station-register-as-russian-agent-1208400

A first-of-its-kind decision from a Florida federal judge rejects reasoning from RM Broadcasting on why it shouldn't have to register.
The United States Justice Department has prevailed in a lawsuit against RM Broadcasting, the owner of a Washington, D.C.-based radio station that is broadcasting Sputnik International. On Tuesday, a federal judge in West Palm Beach, Fla., granted a motion for judgment on the pleadings to the DOJ in a groundbreaking case over the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

For more than eight decades, FARA has loomed over international media organizations. Originally adopted by the United States Congress in 1938 to combat Nazi propaganda, FARA requires those acting as agents for foreign powers to register with the U.S. government, disclose their relationships and provide reports on financial activity.

What media organizations must register? Al Jazeera? The BBC?

It's very unclear.

RM International is going to have to register foreign agent.

 

[JBraddock]

So what about WCRW Leesburg which carries China Radio International 24/7?

According to this Washington Post piece and All Access, RM Broadcasting is a broker that sells time on WZHF, not the licensee. Apparently the managing owner of the 105.5 translator also had to register, but no mention of WZHF owner Way Broadcasting.

The owner of the 105.5 translator stated in the Washington Post article that being labelled a foreign agent cost him at least one business transaction.

 

[Miss Tuned]

Every time I hear this station it seems to be broadcasting propaganda and rants relating to Brexit, usually with British presenters and guests and presumably aimed at a UK audience. Why is this stuff being broadcast to DC? It's very UK focused.

 

[seattlesarchiebunker]

If it’s still Radio Sputnik, it can best be described as the equivalent of RT (the news/talk TV channel) for radio. They hire ex-BBC, ITV, and CNN folks to give their news a better taste of legitimacy and international appeal. (Larry King ended up there after he was given the heave-ho from CNN) 70-80% of it is western news...quite often with them taking an antagonistic (and arguably ‘pro-Russian’) view. IIRC it’s mostly privately owned but has some Russian government ownership (not unlike their domestic public TV/radio networks)

The one thing I will say is it’s slickly produced. And some of the long-form documentary pieces are fairly interesting.

In terms of why it’s broadcast to DC: two reasons. 1) Soft diplomacy: it allows folks who are DCs “movers and shakers” to get a better idea of Russian culture 2) Russia and the US have had a game of showmanship recently. It’s a good morale booster to claim they have a station in the US’s national capital.

And lastly...why they are Brexit-focused? It is major international news, but a hard Brexit could potentially be a big benefit for Russia—especially when it comes to energy.

 

[Miss Tuned]

I'm not sure many of DC's movers and shakers are tuned in - in a market with so much choice, and so many domestic and locally based news/talk stations, I can't see many people choosing to tune to Sputnik, particularly with the current preponderance of British presenters and British news.

It is definitely well produced. It's a major step up from WCRW/CRI in production quality. CRI still has the sound of old-school communist propaganda radio to it, despite their attempts to sound like a modern Western station, while Sputnik sounds (production-wise) like any other Western news/talk station.

I'd listen more if it had any content about Russia, even with the proviso that it's going to be the Russian government's point of view. It'd be interesting to hear Russian domestic news, issues, documentaries. The constant carping on about UK and US domestic politics is a turn-off. I can get that elsewhere.

 

[seattlesarchiebunker]

I'm not sure many of DC's movers and shakers are tuned in - in a market with so much choice, and so many domestic and locally based news/talk stations, I can't see many people choosing to tune to Sputnik, particularly with the current preponderance of British presenters and British news.

It is definitely well produced. It's a major step up from WCRW/CRI in production quality. CRI still has the sound of old-school communist propaganda radio to it, despite their attempts to sound like a modern Western station, while Sputnik sounds (production-wise) like any other Western news/talk station.

I'd listen more if it had any content about Russia, even with the proviso that it's going to be the Russian government's point of view. It'd be interesting to hear Russian domestic news, issues, documentaries. The constant carping on about UK and US domestic politics is a turn-off. I can get that elsewhere.

That’s unfortunately how most Russian external broadcasting is in the Putin era. Very antagonistic against mostly UK/US/EU policies. Even RT, which used to broadcast some decent documentaries, has cut back and doubled down on their style of news/commentary.

I doubt many DC movers and shakers listen to Sputnik as well. That being said, it looks good to the folks who provide funding for these services if they have the mere opportunity to reach folks in DC. Kinda like Bloomberg, the ratings never matter...just the ability to reach potential people in a fairly niche demographic.

 

[TheBigA]

Kinda like Bloomberg, the ratings never matter...just the ability to reach potential people in a fairly niche demographic.

Maybe more like Pacifica. They have said that they'll never sell WPFW in DC, primarily because of where it is.

It may lose money, it may have no listeners, but it has a voice in a powerful place.