A London-based correspondent for state-owned TV network Russia Today resigned Friday to protest the network’s coverage of a Malaysia Airlines plane that was shot down over Eastern Ukraine.
Reporter Sara Firth told The Press Gazette, a British publication covering journalism news, that RT’s coverage of the crash of MH17 was “the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.”
Firth declared that she was “for the truth” in a tweet announcing her resignation. She had also written a series of tweets before the announcement that outlined her problems with RT’s coverage:
I resigned from RT today. I have huge respect for many in the team, but I’m for the truth. pic.twitter.com/mZ1g0R7N0D
— Sara Firth (@Sara__Firth) July 18, 2014
@Polly_Boiko @ukTanos Lies hun. We do work for Putin. We are asked on a daily basis if not to totally ignore then to obscure the truth
— Sara Firth (@Sara__Firth) July 18, 2014
@cathyraats @Polly_Boiko honestly we’re not. We’re taking a paycheck and for that we have to always obey.
— Sara Firth (@Sara__Firth) July 18, 2014
RT style guide Rule 1: It is ALWAYS *Ukraine’s fault (*add name as applicable)
— Sara Firth (@Sara__Firth) July 18, 2014
An America-based RT anchor, Liz Wahl, resigned on-air in March amid the Russian military’s invasion of Ukraine’s Crimea region. Wahl said she no longer wished to work for a network that “whitewashes the actions of Putin.”
This is great. I can’t wait for the “reporters” and Sabbath gasbags of Murkan TV to start resigning over their unwillingness to honestly and completely report things like NSA lies, Supreme Court corruption, the virtual purchase of many elected positions, etc…
They might be heroes.
This is going to really shake up the Kremlin. They know that they’ll NEVER be able to find another hot chick to spout baloney for them in exchange for a fat check. Undiscovered hot chicks just aren’t that narcissistic; don’t wanna be glamorous TV presenters if they have to compromise their “journalistic ethics” Putin may go on live TV IMPLORING her to return, double her salary and more, could do a first by weeping on TV!
Don’t hold your breath
You never see a Fox News reporter doing this. They must have better brainwashing techniques for their reporters than RT does.
Apparently reporters like Firth and Wahl didn’t bother to watch RT before taking a job there. Who did she think she was working for?