- Fire and brimstone - 15th January 2025
- Descending again - 14th January 2025
- Plane crazy… - 13th January 2025
During 23 years with the BBC, and a 41 year journalistic career (when he was trained to use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon), our Editor, Welshman Phil Parry, has always been fascinated by independent investigative media outlets, and this is now underlined by news of the latest arson attacks in Russia, with the original anti-war ones exposed by Mediazona which was founded by members of ‘Pussy Riot’.
An independent free media is crucial to the proper functioning of a society.
Thankfully we are constrained in the UK largely by legal rules (an independent judiciary is also vital), although in other countries this is not the case.
Let’s look, for example, at the situation in Russia.
The country has been hit by another wave of arson attacks with the blame being placed by officials (of course) on Ukraine.
It is not the first time, either, that Russia has experienced arson attacks since beginning its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, although these latest ones may be more criminally-orientated.
In the first year of the war, military recruitment offices and police departments were frequent targets.
According to an investigation by Mediazona, an independent Russian media outfit (and there aren’t many of those left!), there have been 280 arson attacks to date.
Let me tell you something about Mediazona.
It was founded by two members of ‘Pussy Riot’, a punk band which staged protest concerts.
In 2012, three members of the band were all convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” and each sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
‘Pussy Riot’ is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style.
Founded in 2011 by the then 22-year-old Nadya Tolokonnikova, it has had a membership of approximately 11 women
The group staged provocative guerrilla gigs in public places.
These performances were filmed as music videos and posted on the internet.
The group’s lyrical themes included feminism, LGBTQ rights, opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his policies, as well as his links to the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
More power to their elbow I say!
They know, perhaps more than most, how important an independent free media is to the society they want to promote.
Two of them have set up a media outfit to do just that, and perhaps we would know about more arson attacks if they were allowed…
The memories of Phil’s, astonishing award-winning career in journalism (when he was lucky enough to operate in a free media environment) as he was gripped by the rare neurological disabling condition, Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in a major book ‘A GOOD STORY’. Order the book now!
Tomorrow – how a South Wales conman jailed for serious drug offences and exclusively exposed by The Eye, who was a special constable with the police, has changed his identity yet again, but people have been warned online: “Don’t be victim of his next con!”.
