From Russian Newspaper Editor to ‘Foreign Agent’

The FRONTLINE Dispatch

GBH

News

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 October 2023

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When filmmaker Patrick Forbes decided to make a documentary about Russian newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov, Muratov had just won a Nobel Prize. Over the course of the next year, Russia would invade Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin would intensify his government’s crackdown on the press – a crackdown in which Muratov and his newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, would be caught up.

In this episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, Forbes joins host Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE, to discuss Putin vs. the Press, the new documentary that follows Muratov as he as he faces personal attacks and fights to keep his reporters safe.

Forbes recounts the difficulty of filming a documentary in Russia, where he says Muratov’s story “symbolizes the increasing restriction on freedom of press in Russia” and “the slow strangling of any independent voices.”

Putin vs. the Press is streaming on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel, and the PBS App.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has cracked down on the press, labeling a number
0:08.5	of Russian journalists as foreign agents.
0:12.6	In early September, Nobel Prize-winning journalist Dimitri Muratov was added to that
0:18.1	list.
0:19.1	The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, Putin has just declared that he is a foreign
0:24.0	agent.
0:25.0	Putin still lives in Russia and edited the independent Novoye Gazeta newspaper.
0:29.4	Putin vs. the press is a new frontline documentary.
0:32.7	It follows Muratov's battle for free speech inside Russia, as he faces personal attacks
0:38.3	and fights to keep his reporters safe.
0:41.3	Why did you become a journalist?
0:43.5	Either by.
0:44.8	Joining me to talk about Putin vs. the press is Patrick Forbes, the film's director.
0:49.6	I'm Rainy Aronson Roth, editor-in-chief and executive producer of Frontline, and this
0:54.5	is the Frontline Dispatch.
1:01.3	The Frontline Dispatch is made possible by the Abrams Foundation, committed to excellence
1:05.9	in journalism, and by the Frontline Journalism Fund, with major support from John and
1:10.9	Joanne Hagueller.
1:12.6	Support for Frontline Dispatch comes from the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center,
1:16.5	dedicated to providing compassionate care and cancer specialists who are experienced in
1:20.3	the cancer you have.
1:21.4	When you hear the word cancer, their team is ready.
	...

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