The Russian state-sponsored news outlet Sputnik is entering the Washington, D.C., radio market in an effort to push back against what it called "constant attacks" by U.S. media companies.
Sputnik Radio announced Friday that it has taken over 105.5 FM, which previously aired bluegrass music.
In a statement, Mindia Gavasheli, the editor-in-chief of Sputnik's D.C. bureau, accused U.S. news organizations of unfairly attacking and criticizing the news outlet, which is funded by the Russian government.
"We’re glad to finally be able to directly address our listeners in Washington. During the last few months Sputnik Radio has become the target of constant attacks in the US corporate media," Gavasheli said. "And often the people who wrote or spoke about us didn’t even bother to listen to our broadcasts first."
Sputnik was launched by Rossiya Segodnya, a Russian state-run news service, in 2014 and has been accused in the U.S. of being a propaganda tool of the Kremlin.
More:
http://thehill.com/homenews/media/340292-russian-radio-takes-over-local-dc-station