Russian Media May Take Permanent Place Among Western Audience – Piskorski

Russian media has gained popularity among audiences in western countries and may take a permanent position as growing numbers of people seek alternative opinion, the head of the Polish Change (Zmiana) party told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Yulia Shamporova — Politicians from different countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, try to make appearances in Russian media during pre-election campaigns, Mateusz Piskorski noted.

"The Russian media have the opportunity to take a permanent place among the audience of western countries. Even today the number of quotations of Russian media in independent western media is quite high, and this is the indication that Russian media become one of the most important source of information all over the world, including Unites States."

Such interest emerges because politicians understand that a growing number of Western voters trust Russian media because nationally-based corporate-owned media has lost credibility, Piskorski explained.

"Most of the public media as well as commercial media in Europe and United States are controlled by a few groups of people as well as by the mainstream political views," Zmiana party leader added.

Western audiences are seeking alternative opinions and points of view, and finding it in English-language sources from Russia and other countries, Piskorski opined.

A poll conducted by ICM research for Sputnik revealed Tuesday that 60 percent of European and US citizens polled expressed desire for news from alternative media.