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JULY 28, 2003 – MOSCOW,
RUSSIA – Enraged that their long-time domination of state-run,
one-party supporting propaganda is being challenged by the Fox News
Network, the old Soviet newspaper, Pravda, has filed a suit alleging
copyright infringement.
“We wrote the book on this
style of reporting,” Vadim Gorshenin, the current editor-in-chief
and President of Pravda - which translates to mean ‘Truth,’ - said
in an interview. “It is inexcusable that Rupert Murdoch just went
and stole our ‘tell-any-lie to support the Party,’ idea, and he
should be paying royalties at the very least.”
Boris Yeltsin had closed
down the old Soviet Government’s puppet mouthpiece in 1991, taking
what he considered one of the most celebrated and important steps in
moving away from the undemocratic, repressive, one-sided reporting
the old regime had used to keep itself in power and squash dissent.
So important was closing Pravda, that Yeltsin did it on the very day
Gorbachev resigned, the first day the old Communist Party officially
ceased to exist.
Pravda has since re-opened
and has come to reestablish itself as the faithful, one-sided puppet
it used to be, this time with the stated mission of, “analyzing
events from the point of view of the Party's interests.”
Gorshenin, charged with
heading this reincarnation of the old Soviet’s favorite propaganda
tool, was clearly furious at the creation of the Fox News Network.
“For generations we fought
a Cold War against American values, like a free-press that reports
many different view points, and puts facts and reality above what
the Party leaders demand the people be told. So many good Russians
gave the best years of their lives to trying to promote one-sided,
oppression-supporting information control. I always dreamed one day
Pravda would be the official newspaper of America as well as the
Soviet Union."
“But now,” Gorshenin said
tearfully, “that can never happen, because Murdoch has gone and
created Fox News. It is like a victory for us, but we get none of
the spoils or profits. Pravda has emerged in America, but it is
called Fox News, and the commercial dollars from it go to Murdoch.
That will be fixed by the lawsuit, I hope.”
Asked why he thinks Murdoch
beat him to the punch, Gorshenin credits one difference in the
approach the former Soviet Union had taken and the approach Murdoch
took.
“We wanted to impose a
one-sided, one-party-supporting, opposition-attacking government
puppet station in America, but we had planned on it being one that
imposed the will of the Communist Party. Rupert took the same
oppressive, un-American format and instead uses it to puppet what
the rich business owners of the Republican Party want him to force
down the American people’s throats – that way he was able to get all
sorts of financing to make it happen.”
However, Gorshenin is still
unsure whether or not Murdoch’s idea will be successful in America.
“The nation held out
against our attempts to turn them into an undemocratic,
freedom-hating, war-loving nation for decades – and we had the
second most powerful nation in the world’s history behind us.
Americans are a stubborn lot, and really hate propaganda and love
their freedom. No matter how much money Murdoch pours into it, I
don’t think he will every break their will and get them to accept
his Pravda-imitating puppet news station.”
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