Liberal journalists now lament that some in the conservative media “have routinely repeated Russian talking points on TV,” as if liberals have always treated the Russian government as an expansionist enemy. The truth is that American conservatives are the most harsh critics of Russia. Liberals long advocate a moral equivalence among Russian totalitarians, American democracies, and European democracies.
Sting sang “Russians”, a song that denounced the Cold War, hot war and declared them unwinnable. Is that how it looks right now?
On the latest NewsBusters Podcast, we dig deeply into the Media Research Center archives to explore the media treatment of Russia during the Cold War and after it. Scott Whitlock is the Research Director and joins the podcast to talk about how many media elites have over the years praised Soviet communism as well as its egalitarian visions. Ted Turner’s TBS broadcast a series entitled “The Documentary Series” in 1988. Portrait of Soviet UnionIt was so proSoviet it caused the Soviets to apologize when it was broadcast on Russia’s TV.
American media executives often lamented the fact that Russia was “just another capitalist device” as the Soviet Union became more open to liberalization and then ended up being extinct. The Russians also lost their dream of socialist security from cradle–to-grave. So they probably shouldn’t lecture about repeating “Russian talking points on TV.”
Listen to the podcast here or anywhere else you like podcasts.
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