Tune into 1140 AM or 102.9 FM in Kansas City and you might hear Jarmarl Thomas pontificating about the motives of Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine on his show Fault Lines.
The week of March 7, Thomas spent a large portion of the three-hour program painting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the instigator of the Russian invasion, pinning responsibility for it on Ukrainians and the United States.
鈥淶elenskyy isn鈥檛 the brimming, shining hero the West has made him out to be,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥漈hat鈥檚 the narrative that鈥檚 required in order to solidify this idea this is unprovoked.鈥�
Fault Lines is a show featured on Radio Sputnik, broadcast programming produced in Washington D.C. and funded by the Kremlin. The show regularly airs on KCXL, a small station in Liberty, Missouri that can be heard for miles in any direction.
Radio Sputnik鈥檚 narrative on Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine is in stark contrast to most coverage of the ongoing conflict, described largely as an unprovoked attack on Ukrainians led by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
KCXL and Washington D.C. station WZHF-AM air Radio Sputnik daily. A handful of other stations pick up those broadcasts, as well.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine rages on, scrutiny of Kremlin-sponsored media like Radio Sputnik continues to mount. And for KCXL owner Pete Schartel, that scrutiny comes in the form of renewed pressure for him to stop broadcasting programming that keeps the radio station in business.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, businesses from around the world have steadily halted dealings with Russia. last week dropped Russian state-controlled RT, formerly known as Russia Today. That caused RT to close its U.S. branch and lay off most American staff members.
In Russia, outlets like following a censorship law signed by Putin that threatens up to 15 years in prison for spreading 鈥渇alse information.鈥�
'Extremely unusual'
Earlier this month, in response to the invasion, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) chief executive Curtis LeGeyt called on all U.S. broadcasters to cease any state-sponsored programming with ties to the Russian government.
NAB鈥檚 chief legal officer, Rick Kaplan, said it was an 鈥渆xtremely unusual鈥� but necessary move.
He said the broadcasts produced by Radio Sputnik amount to nothing more than propaganda that spreads misinformation from a foreign government about the invasion into the U.S.
鈥淚t鈥檚 different than discourse, which is very important to have 鈥� open, all views on the table. There is a line between that and straight propaganda."Rick Kaplan, National Association of Broadcasters
鈥淸There鈥檚] a lot of misinformation going on, generally speaking, in our country and around the world 鈥� I think this is an important statement.鈥�
Schartel called the NAB鈥檚 request a 鈥渒nee-jerk reaction鈥� that trampled KCXL鈥檚 freedom of speech and led to a maelstrom of angry calls to the station, labeling Schartel and his wife Jonne as 鈥渢raitors.鈥�
鈥淚f I did (cut the program) we鈥檇 be doing exactly the primary thing we criticize the old Soviet Union and other communist regimes of doing where they don鈥檛 allow free speech,鈥� Schartel said.
And it's not just free speech Schartel worries about. He said without the monthly income from the Radio Sputnik deal, the station most likely wouldn't be able to remain open.
In exchange for airing Radio Sputnik programs, Schartel nets $5,000 a month to air six hours of Radio Sputnik in two blocks, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily on 1140 AM, 102.9 FM and 104.7 FM.
'Something we could live with'
Before the 2020 deal with the Russian government, Schartel said he struggled to keep his small radio station on the air on a shoestring budget.
鈥淚t struck me as something we could live with,鈥� Schartel said. 鈥淓specially if they could pay us and keep the rest of the station on-air.鈥�
U.S. Justice Department Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) filings show RM Broadcasting has paid Schartel鈥檚 company more than $160,000 to air Radio Sputnik programs in the past two years.
Arnold Ferolito, of Florida-based RM Broadcasting, brokered the deal between Rossiya Segodnya, a Kremlin-run media agency in Russia, and KCXL in 2020.
In 2017, Ferlito brokered a similar deal with WZHF-AM and unsuccessfully shopped the programming to stations in larger markets like New York and Los Angeles.
Two years later, as investigations continued into foreign influence in the 2016 election, the Justice Department ordered Ferolito to register as a foreign agent under FARA.
Congress first enacted FARA in 1938 to fight Nazi propaganda in the run-up to World War II.
At the time, Ferolito told KCUR 89.3 he was a businessman who was 鈥渃aught in the middle of a political issue.鈥� He fought the Justice Department鈥檚 order in court without success.
After U.S. District Court Judge Robin L. Rosenberg upheld the decision, the Justice Department said in a statement that the information Ferolito and RM Broadcasting brought to U.S. airwaves lacked important transparency.
鈥淭he American people have a right to know if a foreign flag waves behind speech broadcast in the United States,鈥� the statement read. 鈥淥ur concern is not the content of the speech but providing transparency about the true identity of the speaker.
Still, Ferolito continues to profit from the deals between Rossiya Segodnya and the radio stations, as long as the stations continue to air Radio Sputnik. According to FARA filings, Ferolito has made a small percentage of the more than $1.6 million the Russian government has paid KCXL and WZFH.
Ferolito did not grant an interview to the Midwest Newsroom, but in a statement said RM Broadcasting 鈥渟tands with Ukraine and victims of oppression and aggression worldwide鈥� and argued halting programming of Radio Sputnik in the U.S. would be a blow to free speech.
'Alternative radio'
Radio Sputnik isn鈥檛 the only controversial programming on KCXL, owing to what Schartel said was his love of 鈥渁lternative radio.鈥�
KCXL also airs TruNews, a show the regularly features anti-Semitic, Islamaphobic and anti-LGBTQ messages and in 2018 Schartel gave airtime to Steve West, a Clay County Republican candidate for the Missouri House of Representative who has been denounced by his party and
The station has supporters like Kevin Phillips, a listener of KCXL for the last 20 years.
The self-described conspiracy researcher said he listens because Schartel airs programs other stations avoid.
鈥淲henever people were trying to get their information out and couldn鈥檛 be heard anywhere else, he (Pete) would allow them the space on air,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淧ete never did restrict the topics.鈥�
Phillips said he gets a good amount of his news from sources like Radio Sputnik and RT. He said the Russian funding of the programming doesn鈥檛 bother him.
鈥淚f you follow this Ukraine thing for the last 20 years like I have, you鈥檙e going to find way more truth on Russian paid for radio than you will on American radio,鈥� Phillips said.
Schartel plans to continue running broadcasts of Radio Sputnik for as long as they鈥檙e available, but his contract with RM Broadcasting and Rossiya Segodnya ends in Dec. 2022. He doesn鈥檛 expect it to be renewed.
This story comes from the Midwest Newsroom, an investigative journalism collaboration including , , , and .
Copyright 2022
