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Lecture for InteRussia fellows on international broadcasting and the history of international journalism

International Relations
On 17 April, the participants of the InteRussia programme on international relations visited the head office of Russia Today TV channel.

Anna Belikova, Senior Lecturer at Lomonosov Moscow State University, MGIMO University, and the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Advisor at the “Russia-Muslim World” Strategic Vision Group, RT's Head of Protocol and founder of the Oriental Studies Club, told the fellows about the role that RT plays in the global picture of international broadcasting. The speaker noted that the modern broadcasting of the USSR started with the launch of Radio Moscow in 1929. Today, the main brands of Russian international broadcasting are Sputnik radio station and Russia Today.

The speaker gave an example of successful work of the media with foreign listeners:

"Linguistic and cultural factors may be stronger than we may think. ‘Voice of America’ was deeply focused on the Soviet Union. It broadcast news not only in Eastern European languages, such as Czech and Polish, but also in Soviet languages, including Tatar and Karakalpak."

The expert spoke about the emergence of international broadcasting in other countries of the world. She highlighted the largest broadcasting countries of today which operate in the field of television network. Particular attention was paid to the international broadcasting of China, Iran, Turkey, the USA, the UK, Germany, and France. The expert then outlined the common features of all the projects aimed at conveying a point of view to foreign citizens:

"When they say ‘we have a correspondent reporting from Berlin,’ it is not an international broadcasting, but a journalist who works locally. International broadcasting also is never profitable: it is always a big expense, not an advertising revenue."

The guests also attended an excursion in the media outlet’s headquarters. The fellows visited the newsrooms of RT English, RT Arabic and RT Spanish, and toured the programme studios. Anna Belikova also showed them a small memorial dedicated to journalist Khaled Alkhateb, who worked with Russia Today and died in Syria in 2017.

InteRussia is a traditional fellowship programme for foreign specialists and a joint project of the Gorchakov Fund, MGIMO University and Rossotrudnichestvo, which is also implemented as part of the ‘‘New Generation’’ programme.

The programme gives young scholars from all over the world an opportunity to carry out a scientific research under the guidance of the leading academic staff of MGIMO’s Institute for International Studies. The current intake consists of young international relations specialists from India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Madagascar and Tanzania.