Owned by News Media Holding Slogan First in breaking news Language Russian | Picture format 16:9 SDTV, HDTV Country Russia | |
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Launched 2 September 2013 (2013-09-02) | ||
Life (stylized as L!FE, formerly LifeNews) is a Russian news website and 24-hour television channel that is owned by the News Media holding company. The TV channel was officially launched in September 2013. As of February 2014, it had a potential audience of 30 million subscribers. The channel's editor-in-chief is Anatoly Suleymanov.
Contents
LifeNews is owned by Ashot Gabrelyanov.
The Gabrelyanovs operate in different sectors of Russian life from showbusiness to the security services. According to an article in The Moscow Times an influence on their recent success has been loyalty to the Kremlin. "The father, Aram Gabrelyanov, refers to President Vladimir Putin as the "father of the nation". [-] One of Putin's oldest friends spent $80 million to become a key shareholder in the Gabrelyanovs' holding company, News Media, providing it with a flood of cash for investment.'
In September 2014 Ukraine's National Council of Television banned 15 Kremlin-run channels, including Life News, for spreading war propaganda.
In 2015 News Media cut around 15 to 17 percent of the employees of Lifenews.
Criticism
LifeNews is notable for a servile attitude toward the Kremlin and a proximity to the Russian security services.
While broadcasting events the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, LifeNews is credited in creating an internet meme the Yarosh's business card, which was found at the place of one of the first war in Donbass clashes. Later it was revealed that Dmytro Yarosh was really involved in that clash as commander.
In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shooting in January 2015, it aired a piece from one of it its regular contributors and 'expert political analysts' that said the terrorist attack had been carried out by the US against France in order to further an anti-Russian agenda.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine, it is a paramilitary organization. Andrew Levus, SBU, called members of the LifeNews channel 'specific special operations combat units of information.'