Those were the times: Seipel and Putin went on a long journey for the film “I Putin”, which was shown on ARD at Christmas 2012.
Image: NDR/cinecentrum
The TV journalist, author and Putin expert Hubert Seipel has accepted money from Russia. And he finds nothing there. Two years ago he freaked out on the radio when asked about fees from Moscow.
WIt’s June 2nd, 2021. We listen to the program “SWR 1 People”. The guest is Hubert Seipel, television journalist, author, and Russia and Putin expert. He has just published his new book. “Putin’s Power: Why Europe Needs Russia” is the title, and that’s exactly what Seipel is about in the show. He puts us Putins Russia as a neighboring country whose interests we have to look out for. Putin appears to the journalist as a statesman in the format of a tsar; in Seipel’s eyes, the evil empire is more likely the USA, but in any case not Russia.
For every critical question from moderator Wolfgang Heim, he has a response ready, as one would expect from a dismissive government spokesman. When Heim asks about the Russian hackers and the troll factories whose crews go into cyber war for Russia, Seipel prefers to talk about the American intelligence service NSA. Asks Heim about the uncanny closeness that Seipel has Wladimir Putin Apparently, he counters by pointing out that proximity to those in power is essential for good journalism. Otherwise you won’t find out anything. This also applies to the capital city correspondents in Berlin, of whom perhaps only ten or twelve know what is really going on in politics.
The post first appeared on www.faz.net
