Belteleradiocompany Head on fugitives’ reaction to First News TV Channel: they’re in despair

The First News TV Channel will become a powerful weapon in the information war against the West – as stated by Chairman of the Belarusian State TV and Radio Company (Belteleradiocompany) Ivan Eismont during the Minsk-Moscow Union State live streaming, when commenting on the reaction of the fugitives to the creation of the TV channel

“Firstly, I think they are in despair, because we are significantly increasing information broadcasting. The TV channel will be filled with interesting content. There are many ideas that have not yet been implemented. There’s time for everything. Secondly, if we imagine, e.g., that we have returned to 2020, then this TV channel could have broadcast news all day long. And we all understand what this means for Belarus’ information environment. Therefore, I think it will be a good and powerful weapon that will only get stronger. Anyway, the reaction of our fugitives is understandable. To be honest, I don’t read [extremist Telegram channels]; I rely on the opinion of people on whom something depends in this world and in politics. Of course, I closely follow the statements of Western politicians, those from the United States, Brussels, but there is no need to pay attention to our fugitives, because nothing depends on them, they do not decide in which direction the situation will develop,” Ivan Eismont explained.

Answering the question about the attempts of the Belarusian fugitives to create their own ‘independent’ media abroad, the Belteleradiocompany Chairman said, “How many people worked for us before 2020 who called themselves ‘stars’ and who – after leaving state-run channels – said they would create their own television, they would generate their own projects… I have only one question: where are these projects? Where is the success, attention and popularity that these people had when they worked on Belarusian television? It is necessary to work very hard to create truly popular content. Dozens, sometimes hundreds of people work on television for this, and it doesn’t always work out. I do not remember such cases when it was enough just to sit in front of a phone or camera, especially after going abroad, and start gathering an audience of millions. I think they have no chance, because without those formats, studios, and decisions that were made by a large television team, these people are unlikely to be interesting to anyone. The last four years have confirmed this.”