Larry King to host show on Russian network

Moscow, May 30 (IANS/EFE) US television veteran Larry King has agreed to host a political talk show on Russian-government-owned RT, the international network said.

"Politics with Larry King" will debut next month on RT America.

RT said it also plans to start airing "Larry King Now", a show King launched last July on Web broadcasters Hulu.com and Ora.tv.

The 79-year-old hosted a popular talk show on CNN for 25 years, stepping down in 2010. Last year, he teamed up with Mexican telecoms magnate Carlos Slim to create Ora TV, which will produce the new program for RT.

"I would rather ask questions to people in positions of power instead of speaking on their behalf," King said in a video posted online Wednesday to announce his move to RT.

"The veteran broadcaster will not shy away from causing controversy, or using his authority to give a chance to hear voices other media ignore," RT said in a statement.

King has conducted some 50,000 interviews over the course of a career spanning five decades.

"Whether a president or an activist or a rock star was sitting across from him, Larry King never shied away from asking the tough questions, which makes him a terrific fit for our network," RT's editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, said Wednesday.

RT, which broadcasts in English, Spanish and Arabic, has received the equivalent of $349 million from the Russian government so far this year.

--IANS/EFE

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