Broadcast Prism — Story: Novaya Gazeta to close tomorrow after eviction and donations block

How it was covered

BBC One carried 51% of the airtime and concentrated on the Moscow office shutdown and the paper's investigative legacy.
Sky News concentrated on the last independent newspaper and the wider loss of Russian media.
Channel 5, BBC News, Channel 4, GB News, ITV and BBC Two: not found in tracked broadcasts.

The Full Story

A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.

Novaya Gazeta, Russia's last major independent newspaper, is due to close tomorrow, Sky News reported. The paper is being evicted from its headquarters and has been blocked from receiving donations. It says the Russian authorities are killing it off.

The closure follows more than three decades of investigative journalism often critical of those in power. BBC One West reported from the newspaper's Moscow office as staff packed up to leave. Its Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, said that for 30 years Novaya Gazeta had been Russia's most prominent independent newspaper, known for investigations that were often fiercely critical of the authorities.

Dmitry Muratov, a journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, helped set up the paper. He said there were different ways to commit murder and that the authorities had chosen to strangle it. Sky News reported that Muratov won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 and was nearly blinded after being doused in toxic paint.

Sky News reported that six of the paper's journalists have been murdered. They include Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead in the entrance of her Moscow apartment block in 2006. BBC One West reported that her office had been preserved as a museum but that everything in it now had to be removed.

BBC One West also reported that named Novaya Gazeta journalists had been jailed. It said Antonina Favorskaya, Konstantin Gabov, Sergei Karelin and Artem Krieger were jailed on extremism charges over alleged links to the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. It said Oleg Raldugin was accused of misusing personal data.

Both broadcasts described wider pressure on independent media. Sky News reported that censorship laws introduced since the invasion of Ukraine had made critical journalism practically impossible. It said websites such as Novaya Gazeta's had been accessible only from outside the country or through VPNs. BBC One West reported that the range of views at Russian newspaper kiosks was far narrower than a few years ago. It said papers still on sale carried no criticism of President Vladimir Putin or the war in Ukraine.

Sky News broadcast an editor's warning that destroying the media damages the whole of society. The editor said public institutions had been dismantled, the constitution was being mocked and human rights had ceased altogether. Ivor Bennett reported for Sky News from Berlin.

Key Claims

Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.

Claim
Reported by all 2 channels
Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead 20 years ago, and her office was preserved as a museum.
Dmitry Muratov, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, helped found the newspaper.
Novaya Gazeta said it was shutting down under government pressure, faced eviction, and could no longer receive donations.
Six Novaya Gazeta journalists had been murdered, including Anna Politkovskaya in 2006.	Reported by BBC One
The museum office of Anna Politkovskaya was being cleared of its contents.	Reported by BBC One
Only on one channel
Four named journalists were jailed on extremism charges over alleged links to Alexei Navalny.	Reported by BBC One	Not reported by Sky News

Channel Perspectives

What each channel focused on, with key quotes.

BBC One

BBC One West led with the paper's shutdown as a milestone for independent journalism in Russia, reporting from its Moscow office as staff packed up. It focused on the paper's investigative history, the preserved office of Anna Politkovskaya and legal pressure on named journalists. The report framed the closure as the end of an era in an increasingly authoritarian Russia.

Key Quotes:

“There are different ways to commit murder. They chose to strangle us.”
“For 30 years, this has been Russia's most prominent independent newspaper”
“In her memory, her office was preserved. It became a museum. Now everything has to be removed.”

Sky News

Sky News framed the closure as the loss of Russia's last independent newspaper and placed it in a wider account of censorship and propaganda since the invasion of Ukraine. Its report from Berlin emphasised the paper's three-decade record, the murder of six journalists and the Nobel Peace Prize won by Dmitry Muratov. An editor warned that Russian society as a whole had been damaged.

Key Quotes:

“Russia's last independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, will close tomorrow.”
“It's not just Novaya Gazeta that's been destroyed, it's the whole society.”
“By destroying the media, the authorities are doing themselves a terrible disservice.”

Who was on air

People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.