Russian Media Challenge CNN

From Spiegel:

Larry King, a legend of American radio and TV journalism, began working for Russia Today this summer.

King and his new colleagues have a simple assignment: They are to "break the monopoly of the Anglo-Saxon mass media," President Vladimir Putin said during a studio visit a few weeks ago.

The Russians' recipe for success has three ingredients: sex appeal, a rigidly anti-American stance and a never-ending flow of money from the Kremlin.

Putin wants to minimize the influence of CNN with the international satellite news network Russia Today.