The Media...Silenced.

Something that struck me in "Active Measures" was Putin's power over the media. Previously in Patterson we read of the ways in which the people of the U.S. gained knowledge of ongoing events from their televisions. For example during the war many could see right in front of them the gruesome events that unfolded behind the words of the government. In tonight's reading, however, I was confronted with a media that is under strict federal control. It seems as if Putin believed solely in his ideologies and resented any other perspectives, I mean he clearly could not even take a joke when depicted by a puppet on a puppet show as he forced the show's owner to give it up to more "obedient" owners. Putin approached things with a seeming "my way or no way" mentality, especially seen with the restrictions placed on TV personnel with many public figures not being "permitted to appear on any talk show or new program." I guess I simply cannot imagine a world where everything is censored to the T, but in all honesty how sure am I that the things I stumble upon aren't? I mean probably not the the extent of the strictness of Russia's government but ...