There is no such beast

They call me. From newspapers, from agencies, from online publications. They ask: why didn't you begin to propose your candidacy to the council of public television?
The answer is: for many reasons. First, because the first 25 proposed members of this council will be elected by the members of the Public Chamber. I consider the Public Chamber a completely useless entity. However, no, it, this education, is necessary. The authorities need it as an illustration of the development of democracy and civil society in Russia. This is such a Potemkin village for the blind.
I was at the public television hearings that took place in the State Duma a few months ago. I confess that I have rarely heard so many completely incompetent (politely speaking) opinions in my life. It became clear to me that none of the speakers had any idea what public television is. I've never seen it, and if I did, I didn't realize that it was public television.
For some reason, all this reminded me of a joke about a farmer who stubbornly argued that there was no such animal as a giraffe. He was dragged to the zoo and brought to the corral in which the giraffe was walking. The farmer looked and looked, then sighed and said resolutely: “There is no such beast!”
In the Public Chamber, you can count on the fingers of one hand, maximum two, people who have a more or less professional idea of ​​what kind of beast public television is. As for everyone else, it's tabula rasa. „

In the Public Chamber, you can count on the fingers of one hand people who have an idea of ​​what kind of beast public television is. And they will choose the members of the future council?!

“And they will choose the members of the future council?! Well, well ... This is, so to speak, secondly.
But that's not all. The Public Chamber will submit this list, consisting of 25 names, to the president of the Russian Federation, after which he, the president, will weed out six. It would be interesting to know for what reasons? I understand that I'm walking on extremely thin ice, but I can't help but express my doubts that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin himself doesn't know much about public television. And this is third.
Of course, I should have started by saying that I absolutely do not believe in the emergence of public television in Russia, since the decree signed by then-president Medvedev establishes that the general director (aka editor-in-chief) of public television is appointed - and, therefore, removes - all the same President of the Russian Federation. And this directly contradicts the foundations of public television, which exist in more than fifty countries and which differ from each other in every way except for two fundamental principles: they are completely independent of a) advertisers and b) authorities. And if we have exactly the opposite, then why, excuse me, hangover, I would nominate myself to the council on public television? That is, it is in the first place. As for all other considerations, I could, as is customary in Odessa, say: and secondly, how do you like it first?
Public television is neither pro-government nor opposition. It strives for maximum balance, for maximum objectivity, it strives to inform its viewer as fully as possible. There is no such television in Russia. Closer than others - although far from perfect - is the Rain channel, on which I worked for several weeks. I am writing in the past tense, because the last Parfenov / Posner program took place last Sunday. The management of Channel One offered me to make a choice: either Channel One or Rain. I hasten to assure everyone that I am not offended - nowhere in the world known to me is a journalist allowed to work on two channels. Or or. That is the principle. I was allowed, but not for long. It's a pity of course. But, as Voltaire used to say, c'est la vie.
Good luck to you. And pleasant dreams.