NYTimes | Sputnik argues that the station is not
trying to sow distrust or to undermine public confidence, but rather is
seeking to express opinions that cannot be heard in other venues. “They
know perfectly well that they are not going to be allowed to say that on
CNN or Fox or MSNBC,” said Mindia Gavasheli, a veteran Russian
television journalist who runs Sputnik’s Washington bureau.
Sputnik
produces eight hours of daily material in Washington, filling the rest
with feeds from its bureau in Edinburgh, from RT broadcasts and from
shows that highlight aspects of Russia, like traveling to the Caspian
Sea. In Kansas City, Sputnik airs six hours every day, during commuting
times in the morning and evening as well as on weekends.
There
are no immediate plans to expand elsewhere, Mr. Gavasheli said,
although what he described as the “brouhaha” over Kansas City had
prompted inquiries from other markets in the United States.
The Sputnik hosts seemed to revel in
having a new audience. The morning show did a couple of segments on
Kansas City barbecue and tried to make light of Russian influence by
joking that Mr. Putin had ordered that the Kansas City Chiefs win the
Super Bowl. (That was before the game, which the Chiefs won.)
Sputnik
shares its Kansas City stations with a cast of far-right conspiracy
theorists, evangelical pastors and anti-Semites. The host of one
program, TruNews, recently described the impeachment of Mr. Trump as a “Jew coup.”
“He
calls things the way that he sees them,” Mr. Schartel said of Rick
Wiles, who made the remark. “I feel that he has got a right to say what
he is saying.”
“We’ve always put on voices and people
that wouldn’t be able to get on anyplace else,” said Mr. Schartel, who
has owned the station for 26 years.
A
mission statement on KCXL’s website says the United States has become a
different country that now looks down on traditional values. “We tell
you the things that the liberal media” will not, it said.
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