Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova has a new job after she stormed the set of a live Russian news show while holding a sign that read “NO WAR’ and “You are being lied to.”
Ovsyannikova said she was detained and interrogated for 14 hours after following her March 14 disruption of Russia’s state-run primetime broadcast of Channel One.
Publisher Axel Springer announced on Monday that the 43-year-old will report for Germany’s WELT as a freelance correspondent, writing for its newspaper and contributing to the outlet’s TV news coverage. She will report from Ukraine and Russia, the executive said.
Ovsyannikova said her new employer “stands for what is being so vehemently defended by the courageous people of Ukraine on the ground right now: freedom.”
The journalist was offered asylum in France, but said she plans to stay in Russia, despite facing possible imprisonment under harsh, new laws against news reporting imposed by President Vladimir Putin, who sent troops into Ukraine in February, sparking a deadly and violent march across the neighboring country.
“I see it as my duty as a journalist to defend that freedom,” she said. “And I am delighted to be able to do this now for WELT.”
Ulf Poschardt, editor-in-chief of the WELT Group, said the reporter “had the courage to confront Russian viewers with an unembellished view of reality … She defended the most important journalistic ethics — despite the threat of state repression,” he said. “I am excited to be working with her.”