Timur Shafir, Secretary of the Union of Russian Journalists (UJR), commented on socialbites.ca’s TV presenter Vladimir Pozner’s statement that many Russian journalists are lying for the truth and making outright propaganda, reminding that Pozner describes himself as a “former propagandist”. At the same time, Shafir called Posner’s remarks about journalists getting into hell as unethical.
The Journalists’ Union will not make any official statement on this matter as it does not see it necessary. I, as the Union Secretary, can comment. Posner’s statement could be called unethical to put it mildly. You can get many other nicknames, because the sweeping accusation of all our journalists that they are just making propaganda and nothing else, at least, does not sound strange. In particular, in a series of interviews, he declared that he was working for propaganda funds, in the words of a man who repeatedly called himself a former propagandist. And indeed, in Soviet times, Pozner worked both in the Novosti Press Agency and in the USSR State Television and Radio Broadcasting Agency, engaged only in propaganda broadcasting to Western Europe, England and the USA, ”Shafir said.
At the same time, the “atheist” Pozner’s statements that all Russian journalists are going to hell were described by the UJR secretary as bizarre and unethical.
“Given the fact that in the current situation dozens of our colleagues are at the forefront every day, such statements seem particularly brutal. What’s more, it seems unethical to apply such indiscriminate black paint on all Russian journalists, again at least from the point of view of a person who has taken full advantage of it for decades. Shafir noted that Posner was the recipient of the Soviet awards, the highest journalism award, the “Golden Pen”, “The Legend of Russian Journalism”.
Posner criticized the work of Russian journalists at a conference held at the online university Ubiquity University last week.
“I am very ashamed of the representatives of my profession in the Russian Federation, of what they do, of lies presented as fact, of propaganda in the full sense of the word. I shouldn’t say this, but I will. I am an atheist, but if there is hell, then many journalists will go there, ”said the TV presenter.