Yeltsin slams media owners

President Yeltsin has made an outspoken attack on Russian media tycoons, accusing them of censoring news for their own purposes.

In a speech to an international gathering of journalists in Moscow, Mr Yeltsin said that objective, accurate reporting was being jeopardised by corporate ownership which openly interfered in editorial policy.

The President's press spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky later followed up his remarks by criticising television coverage of the Russian miners' dispute during the past week.

He called it unreasonable and said Mr Yeltsin would be meeting the heads of the three main channels later this week to express his indignation.

Correspondents point out that the support of most of the Russian media was instrumental in securing the President's re-election two years ago.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service