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More political shows to appear on television ahead of presidential election, TV executive says

More political programs will appear on Belarus’ television networks ahead of the 2011 presidential election, Alyaksandr Zimowski, head of the Belarusian State Television and Radio Company (BSTRC), told reporters in Minsk on March 31, as quoted by BelaPAN.

When asked to comment on a statement made by Presidential Administration head Uladzimir Makey at a seminar on March 24 that the BSTRC should "improve" news coverage, Mr. Zimowski said: “This is how the Presidential Administration views the broadcasts, and I don’t have the right to engage in controversy with it.”

The coverage of news cannot be changed, as a piece of news focuses on “fresh information that is topical for someone,” Mr. Zimowski said.

“At the BSTRC, Alyaksandr Ivanavich [Martynenka] and I decide what event should be considered `news," he said. "And the format that is in place at present will remain unchanged for a long time.”

But he acknowledged that Mr. Makey’s remark about a lack of analytical TV programs was “justified to some extent," citing a "small" number of topics for such programs as an excuse.

The BSTRC will not make new entertainment shows in the new season, as the Presidential Administration head has advised against this, Mr. Zimowski said.

The coming season will be “political,” he said. “The Agency of Television News is working on a number of new projects that will enrich its political broadcasts.”

When commenting on the recent release of Yahor Rybakow, a former head of the BSTRC, Mr. Zimowski said that the Company appealed for his release on parole three weeks ago.

The request was among the factors behind the decision, he said.

“The debts that Rybakow has been ordered by court to pay to the BSTRC will be repaid quicker if he starts working in a place other than the correctional institution,” Mr. Zimowski said.

When asked to comment on whether Mr. Rybakow might be offered a job with the Company, Mr. Zimowski said that the court had barred him from “occupying senior positions, at least at the BSTRC." “But he is a good reporter,” Mr. Zimowski said.

In addition, he repaid the damage in part, the BSTRC head said.