In a very interesting explanation of the difficulties of being a reporter or editor in Russia--the editor of Izvestia just resigned, apparently under pressure from the Kremlin for his aggressive Beslan massacre reporting--the Moscow Times has published a long article called The Changing Nature of Covering the News:
"In the 1990s, calls to ministries and other government bodies, if answered at all, usually resulted in a 'no comment' at best. Now, they all have web sites, some of which contain reams of useful information. The Economic Development and Trade Ministry quickly posts all of Minister German Gref's speeches and presentations, including those at Cabinet meetings. The Finance Ministry site contains all the annual federal budgets. Many ministries also have extensive telephone directories on their sites. The use of the Internet is new under Putin. A government resolution signed in February 2003 by Kasyanov, who was still prime minister then, requires all ministries and other government bodies to publish information not regarded as a state secret on their web sites. Government decisions can now be printed from the web. Before, reporters would have to send a request and wait for days in the hope that somebody would respond. Many ministries, particularly those that handle economic and social issues, have become much more open. They have press officers with some idea about the news and the people who make it."
