Russian independent radio board chairman says not aiming to destroy station
(Interfax – November 18, 2014) Mikhail Lesin, chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom-Media, which owns the Russian editorially independent radio station Ekho Moskvy, met the station’s members of staff on 18 November, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on the same day. They met to discuss the ongoing dispute between Lesin and Aleksey Venediktov, the station’s editor in chief, over the conduct of presenter Aleksandr Plyushchev.
Lesin: Not aiming to destroy station
Lesin said that he was not seeking to dismiss Venediktov, Interfax said.
“In fact I do not have the goal in and of itself to destroy Ekho Moskvy and Venediktov. I don’t want that,” Lesin was quoted as saying at the meeting.
At the same time, Lesin said that the behaviour of Plyushchev’s behaviour had been incorrect and unhealthy.
Plyushchev had published a controversial comment on Twitter about the death of the son of the Kremlin chief of staff, which led the station’s director-general, Yekaterina Pavlova, to dismiss him. But Venediktov countermanded the dismissal, saying that only he had the authority to fire Plyushchev and he was not ready to do so.
“If the editor’s office and the editor in chief do not make clear their position on this issue, in a way that is clear to the shareholders, I will initiate certain actions. Which [actions] I am not at the moment ready to discuss,” Lesin said at the meeting with staff.
Earlier in the meeting, Lesin said that he was ready to cancel the order to dismiss Plyushchev if an option could be found that would suit all sides in the conflict.
“I am ready to cancel this order. I will ask the director-general to cancel it. But what then?” he said.
Venediktov: Not ready to sack Plyushchev
Lesin said that he had proposed to Venediktov that Plyushchev resign of his own accord, but Venediktov had disagreed and proposed the option of unpaid leave.
“The situation is not correct, not good, it should be resolved differently. I proposed the option to resign of one’s own accord, he proposed unpaid leave. OK, then offer me something that could make up for what happened,” Lesin said.
He said that he was not happy with the option of unpaid leave for Plyushchev as the presenter should be “taken off the air”.
Venediktov said that he would not sack Plyushchev for his statements on Twitter.
“If he had done that on air on the radio, on the website, that would have been a violation of professional ethics. As long as the actions of journalists in social media are not regulated by the law, you cannot punish for that professionally,” Venediktov said.
Venediktov said that the unpaid leave was a two-month fine for someone who has a family to support, and that this punishment was enough.
“I can’t offer anything else, neither then nor now,” Venediktov said.
Lesin: Could consider minority shareholder buyout offer
Speaking at the meeting, Lesin said he would be ready to consider a proposal by Ekho Moskvy’s minority shareholders to buy a controlling stake in the station, if a suitable price were proposed, Interfax said in a later report on the same day.
Venediktov said that Lesin would be sent a written offer to buy out the required shares, the report said.
“Regardless of whether I remain editor in chief, I will remain a shareholder,” Venediktov was quoted as saying.
Lesin: Gazprom-Media board meeting might be postponed
Venediktov said that the Gazprom-Media board meeting due on 21 November could be postponed, Interfax said in a third report.
“Lesin said that the board of directors [session] could take place in person with the same agenda, and he also said he has all the powers to put off the session,” Venediktov said.
Earlier, it was reported that the board of directors planned to hold a vote in absentia on 21 November. The three items on the agenda are the editor-in-chief, the editorial office and the broadcasting format.
Venediktov added that he would continue “discussing the conflict situation with M. Lesin one-on-one” the following day.