Two of Russia’s leading TV stations are reported to be in serious difficulties.
According to Ekho Moskva, staff at Petersburg-Fifth Channel have appealed directly to President Medvedev and Prime Minster Putin to save the station from closure.
Furthermore, Kommersant says that both Petersburg-Fifth Channel and Ren-TV are to have their news programming produced by Russia Today from next year.
The two stations have until now pursued a relatively independent news policy, which now appears to be under threat.
They are backed by the National Media Group (NMG), with Ren-TV also listing RTL Group as a shareholder.
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