VOA标准英语2011--Georgian TV Beams Russian Language News

Georgian TV Beams Russian Language News to Russia

Russia and Georgia have had no diplomatic ties since their war several years ago. Georgians currently are reaching out, however, to their much larger neighbor through a new Russian language TV channel.
Three years ago, Russia's hard power rolled south into Georgia. Now, Georgia's soft power is beaming north into Russia.
Georgia’s nationalist government discourages the use of Russian. It makes an exception, though, for PIK, or First Caucasus News, a new state-funded, Russian language channel designed to break Moscow’s information grip on the region.
Katya Kotrikadze studied journalism¹ in Moscow. Now home in Georgia, she broadcasts back to Russia.
"The main idea is to show information about the region, which is an informational background now on the stage," Kotrikadze said.
Disrupting the status quo
As news director, she said that through the Internet and via satellite, PIK can shake up local news monopolies.
"This is the only Russian language TV channel which is on satellite which is not controlled by anyone. We don’t have censorship here. This is very good for us," Kotrikadze said.
After launching six months ago, PIK now broadcasts around-the-clock. Its bilingual English-Russian website draws some 50,000 viewers a day.
Robert Parsons, a Radio Free Europe veteran, is director general.
"It is very important for Georgia that it has normal relations with the peoples that surround it. The information that the peoples of the North Caucasus receive from their own media, the Russian media, is entirely² negative about this country," said Parsons. "So what the Georgians are trying to do is trying to connect with the peoples of the North Caucasus - saying, 'Judge for yourself on the basis of real, objective, impartial³ information about what this country's about.'"
Making a connection
Since the Soviet⁴ Union fell apart two decades ago, Chechens - Georgia’s Muslim neighbors to the north - repeatedly have allied⁵ with enemies of Georgia’s central government.
Foreign Ministry⁶ Deputy Minister Tornike Gordadze sees PIK as part of a larger Georgian policy to reach out to neighboring groups in Russia.
"Georgia has to promote its positive image to the North Caucasus to avoid another problem like this, if one day Russia wants to reinvade Georgia, the North Caucasians who are used in the adventure would think twice before following Russia."
Criticism, and olive branch
Although PIK aims to broadcasts unbiased news to Georgia's Russian-speaking neighbors, opposition⁷ politician Nino Burjanadze warns that Georgia is pursuing a dangerous policy.
"Georgia is not some superpower who should be trying to intervene in the internal relations of another country - even a superpower should [not] be do [doing] that. But in these circumstances, this is a really provocative⁸ step," said Burjanadze.
But so far, Russia has been giving PIK a seat at the table. Russia President Dmitry Medvedev invited Kotrikadze to join two Russian reporters for an hour-long interview marking the third anniversary of the August 2008 Russia-Georgia War.

1 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

2 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

3 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。