Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty will on November 10 stop medium-wave broadcasting in Moscow and will switch over to the multimedia internet broadcasting, Yelena Glushkova, the head of the radio station’s Russian office, said on Friday.
Earlier some media said Radio Liberty will stop medium-wave broadcasting in Russia. “We only had the license for broadcasting in Moscow, so we will stop broadcasting in Moscow,” Glushkova told RIA Novosti.
She said the decision was due to the Russian law on mass media banning radio broadcasting in Russia by companies more than 50 percent owned by foreign individuals or legal entities. The law comes into force on November 10.
“We are in that category of companies. As we have always observed Russian laws, we will continue to observe them in future,” Glushkova said.
“We are working on a multimedia strategy, which means we will use the internet as the key radio broadcasting site,” she said.
Glushkova said the radio station reduced staff due to the switchover to multimedia broadcasting.
Masha Gessen, who on October 1 will become the director of the radio station’s Russian service, told media she has nothing to do with the dismissals.
Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by U.S. Congress. Its headquarters is in Prague.