BBG Watch Commentary
LATEST UPDATE
A few hours after RT, BBC, DW and many other international media outlets had reported this news, a report from a VOA correspondent was finally posted on the VOA English website to indicate that anti-government protesters had left the building of the Justice Ministry in Kyiv. This does not mean that a correspondent was late in filing his report. VOA English website team often takes hours to post correspondent reports and other news items. VOA could have also posted its own news item based on the same information which was available to RT, BBC, DW and others.
UPDATE
As of 2:00 PM EST, Monday, more than two hours after BBC and RT reported about anti-government protestors leaving the Justice Ministry building in Kyiv, VOA English website still has nothing on this story. Deutsche Welle (DW) also reports as its top news story on its English homepage that “anti-government protesters have ended a 16-hour occupation inside Ukraine’s justice ministry but still surround government buildings in Kyiv.” “A government emergency rule threat remains on hold,” DW reports. “Ukrainian militants vacate ministry, maintain blockade,” DW, Jan. 27, 2014.
VOA is still prominently showing on its English website a photo of protesters inside the Ministry of Justice building in Kyiv.
Both BBC and Russia’s RT have reported that Ukrainian anti-government protestors have left the building of the Justice Ministry in Kyiv, but the Voice of America (VOA) English website is not reporting this news and still shows reports that the building is being occupied.
RT reported at 11:48 AM EST that Ukrainian Interior Ministry has confirmed to Interfax that opposition activists are no longer occupying the building of the Ministry of Justice.
As of 1:00 PM EST, VOA English website still does not have this news and is showing outdated reports.
The departure of protesters from the Justice Ministry is the number one news story on the BBC website’s Europe News page and one of the top world news stories on its homepage, where it has been posted for some time.
VOA is again failing to update its reports on major news.
The departure of protesters from the building was a significant development because Ukraine’s minister of justice threatened to ask for imposition of the state of emergency if they do not leave the building, which VOA had reported yesterday and still shows this report, but it is now failing to post a news update.