-000175592
 CLAS UNCLASSIFIED
 CLAS UNCLASSIFIED
 AFSN LD0104222493
 FROM FBIS LONDON UK
 SUBJ FYI -- Further on Media Behavior 1 Apr
 Full Text Superzone of Message
 1   The following observations and programming changes for Russian media
 monitored by LD/BBC were noted on 31 March;
 2   Moscow Russian Television Network in Russian continued its Russian
 ripostes on the occasion of April Fool's day.
 3   The "Vesti" newscast at 1600 GMT on 1 April opens its newscast with
 Aleksandr Gurnov pretending to be the presenter and to be speaking from
 London.  He explains that creditors in England have taken over "Vesti" and
 have based it in Soho, from where it will continue to broadcast.  He says
 that the rest of the bulletin will come from the organization's Moscow
 branch, where staff members who "had the good luck" to stay in Russia will
 be operating as usual.  He then hands over to Tatyana Khudobina, who
 explains that this item was a joke.
 4    Russian Television ended up its news coverage with film of a UFO sighting
 and a report by a BBC correspondent on the relocation of Lenin's body from
 mausoleum to the Mir space complex, on the basis that the greatest
 achievement of Soviet science is a good place to keep him out of the way.
 5    Moscow Ostankino Television First Channel in Russian at 1700 GMT ended its
 sports news with the sensational announcements that Gary Kasparov had
 agreed to play Nigel Short in Moscow for free and that Diego Maradona had
 just signed up for local heroes, Central Army.
 6    Not to be outdone, Moscow Programma Radio Odin Network in Russian at 1430
 GMT reported that the Moscow mayor's office had announced that
 archaeologists digging beside the Kremlin had uncovered Ivan the
 Terrible's wine cellar, and that the wines were to be sold off at auction
 in London and Paris.
 7    No other unusual behavior was monitored from Russian media covered by
 LD/BBC on 1 April.               01/2238z apr WC 340 BT #0663 NNNN
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