As RT marks two decades on the global media stage, the Russian state-funded broadcaster has expanded its global footprint with broadcasts in 10 languages and partnerships across regions, including Southeast Asia. 
In this interview, Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan discusses RT's editorial philosophy, its role in an increasingly multipolar media landscape, international partnerships, and her views on journalism, leadership, and public trust.

Q: International media outlets often reflect the worldview of their home countries. How should global news organizations balance national perspective with global credibility?
Simonyan: RT has never been shy about delivering a Russian point of view, it is right there in our mission statement. It does not negate the curiosity and independent thinking of our journalists, nor their sacrifice when they risk their lives at the frontline in order to bring forth the stories they witness. We believe that the complete picture of the world today can only be achieved through the diversity of voices, and never begrudged any national – or even private, for that matter – news organization the right to reflect the influence of their origin. What was disappointing is being met with such hostility and hypocrisy from the same crowd that exalted the virtues of free and diverse media, our ‘peers’ whom we long sought to emulate.

Q: How has the current geopolitical climate changed the way audiences consume and trust international news?
Simonyan: RT has faced an unprecedented assault on its basic rights as a news organization over the last several years. What keeps us going is the stories we receive every day from our viewers and readers, thanking us for our work. This audience has stopped believing the establishment narratives from their own backyard because they no longer matched with their lived reality, and these people turned to RT to get a more accurate portrayal of the world, whether close to home or far away. We cherish their trust.

Q: RT often positions itself as an alternative to Western media narratives. What role does it play in today's multipolar information environment?
Simonyan: The flourishing of such an environment is long overdue! It is natural for the international media landscape to reflect the changes in geopolitics. We welcome multipolarity in both, as that is a foundation of a more fair, open, stable world, where voices of many are considered, and not just the few.

Q: RT recently expanded partnerships in ASEAN, including co-producing a weekly program with Indonesia's TVRI World. What do these collaborations mean?
Simonyan: We seek partnerships with local news organizations wherever we operate. RT has worked with TVRI for nearly two years, first producing an English-language program and more recently launching an Indonesian-language edition with TVRI South Sulawesi.
RT contributes a global newsgathering network, international reporting, and production expertise. Local partners contribute deep regional knowledge and cultural understanding. We see these collaborations as mutually beneficial and a way to broaden audiences for local content.

Q: Do you see international broadcasting as a form of soft power?
Simonyan: By now, nearly any country that wants to be considered and respected on an international stage has invested in an international news broadcaster, or is developing one. Russia is a key global player, of course it deserves for its voice to be heard – and RT is proud to be such a voice. We are proud, that on our 20th anniversary celebration, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked RT for “boldly, selflessly, and persistently upholding the truth in the global information space.”

Q: RT now broadcasts in 10 languages. How do you maintain editorial consistency while adapting to different cultures?
Simonyan: The editorial consistency we consider paramount is fact-based reporting as the foundation for all RT does. Audiences across different regions and countries have vastly divergent interests in both content and presentation styles. However hard we try, one channel cannot be all things for all people; there are only 24 hours in a day. Thus, we report on the matters most relevant to the specific regions, platform voices that will resonate locally, work with local talent across the entire vertical of newsgathering and production.

Q: RT has worked with figures such as Larry King, Julian Assange, Rafael Correa, and P.L.O. Lumumba. What do you look for in contributors?
Simonyan: RT is always looking for a fresh voice, an original perspective – something that brings value to our audience and can expand their worldview, yet is absent from what the rest of the international media is offering. We are proud that the world’s leading political, cultural and media personalities choose our network as their platform.
Leadership and Editorial Philosophy

Q: You became editor-in-chief at 25. What leadership principles have guided you?
Simonyan: I never wanted to be a media manager. And I still do not. That was not my dream. I always wanted to be a writer.
 I was appointed to the role of Editor-in-chief of a single, English-language TV channel, by those who wanted to put young people in charge, so that we wouldn’t be weighed down by the legacy of Soviet broadcasting. Back in 2005, it seemed to me that the world had gone mad, and the main goal was just not to embarrass oneselves. This huge global network that exists today – we created it from scratch. Our success is a result of tireless work of many, many people over the last twenty-plus years. From day one and until today we are all guided by the same principles: integrity, natural curiosity and respect for our audience.

Q: How do you define editorial independence at a state-funded broadcaster?
Simonyan: Our journalists report what they see with their own eyes. Our program hosts give their unfiltered opinions. We have veterans of the likes of the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, and many other world-renowned news organizations working at RT. They came to us of their own free will; ask any one of them – and they will tell you they have never enjoyed greater editorial freedom than at RT.

Q: How did reporting from Chechnya, Beslan, and Abkhazia shape your journalism?
Simonyan: I am a skeptic, I have a difficult time believing something I have not witnessed myself. I think it is an underrated quality for a journalist, and it is reflected in RT’s ethos – Question More.
There was nothing more terrifying in my life than the Beslan school siege in 2004. There is an insurmountable gap between my work as a reporter in those days, and that of a media manager today. One simply cannot compare the exciting and sometimes amusing struggle against bureaucracies, intelligence agencies and even governments, and the occasionally, let’s say, peculiar, personalities that lead them, with the monstrous human grief of when an entire city – every family – loses children to blood and fire.

Q: RT is praised by some for offering alternative viewpoints and criticized by others for promoting state narratives. How do you respond?
Simonyan: The long-underserved audiences that are tired of the mainstream narratives that have nothing to do with their lived experience, and turn to RT for a more truthful portrayal of the world. Who criticizes us? The hypocritical media-political establishment, which has lost its monopoly on hearts and minds and is trembling with fear of being challenged. We work to serve the former, not to kowtow to the latter.

Q: In an era of "information warfare," what role should media play in reducing polarization?
Simonyan: RT entered the news space aiming to build bridges and understanding; we expected to be enthusiastically welcomed into the global information community. Instead, we were treated like the enemy nearly from day one – for daring to be Russian, for daring to be different. The more popular we became with the audiences – the more menacing to the establishment. The paradigm of ‘information warfare’ was created by them; they started this war, they admit that they are losing it, they fret. Meanwhile, we simply keep doing our jobs, undeterred.

Q: Public trust in media has declined globally. How can it be rebuilt?
Simonyan: RT succeeded and continues to grow despite all the obstacles specifically because we filled the trust void left by establishment western media in many parts of the world. All we had to do was speak the truth.

Q: Journalism is demanding and often requires being available around the clock. How do you balance work and family?
Simonyan: I am not going to lie and pretend that juggling work and family lives is not a challenge. But I have been incredibly lucky. We live happily under one roof as a large family – my sister, my three children, her two children, and our other relatives – which allows us to always be close and share everyday life. Success in work is impossible without a genuine passion for it, but it's also important to be able to connect work and life, to delegate, and to trust – whether it's work or family.

Q: After nearly three decades in journalism, what goals remain?
Simonyan: All that I am certain of is that RT is my last place of work, my last job as a media manager. God willing, and if my health allows, I would like to spend time with my family, raising my children and writing books.