Broadcast journalist Vladimir Pozner is leaving a liberal TV station after receiving an ultimatum from the state-run Channel One.
Pozner, who gained notoriety as a Soviet spokesman during the Cold War, will cease to appear on the Dozhd TV channel’s “Parfyonov and Pozner” talk show as of September, he said late Sunday.
Co-hosted by opposition-minded journalist Leonid Parfyonov, the show has covered hard-hitting political topics, including street protests, for the past two months.
Channel One, where Pozner hosts an eponymous talk show, decided that the prominent broadcaster should not simultaneously work for a rival firm.
“Channel One management gave me an ultimatum, and I chose Channel One,” Pozner said in remarks tweeted by Dozhd TV.
Dozhd TV plans to continue working with Parfyonov, the channel’s founder, Natalya Sindeyeva, told RIA-Novosti.
