A Russian 24-hour global television channel in English could be on the air by November to present a Russian perspective on international and domestic news, officials said on Thursday.
The new state-owned channel, called Russia Today, had a trial broadcast from gleaming new Moscow offices, which were packed with sparkling computers and foreign employees, many of whom have experience in major Western media organisations.
"I think we should be on air at the start of November," said Alexei Maiorov, Russia Today's news director, who worked at CNN for 12 years as a producer. "My task is to present news in an objective, timely and smart manner."
The channel, which belongs to the state-owned news agency RIA Novosti and has been funded with as much as $30 million from state coffers and bank loans, is aimed at sprucing up Russia's image. Top officials have long insisted the world's view of Russia is tarnished by biased reports from foreign journalists.
Local media have reported that the channel is the brainchild of President Vladimir Putin's advisor Mikhail Lesin, and has approval from the highest echelons of the Kremlin.
It will be beamed to the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa, though final transmission deals still need to be signed, said Margarita Simonyan, the 25-year-old editor-in-chief.
She said the channel would present a Russian view of the world and of Russia itself: "We very frequently have to deal with a perception of Russia absolutely contrary to the facts. Information about Russia is distorted or incomplete or complete rubbish, and we see confirmation of this at every step."
The test broadcast showed British anchors presenting international news from the United Nations and Iraq on a screen with the channel's green and black logo in the corner and a ticker bar of news headlines along the bottom of the screen.
It also included domestic news, including former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov's presidential bid and the appeal hearing of jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Simonyan, a former Kremlin correspondent for state television, said the channel would strive to show all sides of contentious issues.
She spent most of the news conference fielding questions about covering the conflict in Chechnya and about the influence of the state.
"It is pretty obvious if you are censored," she said in English with an American accent.
"The audience out there is so sophisticated that they will see at once what is right and what is wrong and then they will never switch us on again - so why would anyone want to do that as it would be just a waste of money?"
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