Russian man sues TV channel after too much negative news caused him 'moral damage,' now seeks cash for 'psychological well-being'

Doom and gloom every time you turn on the TV has apparently hit one man from St. Petersburg more than most, with the unhappy viewer now taking broadcasting execs to court for supposedly leaving him shaken by their grim coverage.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Petrogradsky Court in Russia's second city confirmed that it had accepted proceedings from Igor Mirzoev, who alleges that flagship station Perviy Kanal had infringed on his rights as a citizen.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff was "forced to start seeing a psychologist because his general psychological state and emotional stability were disrupted." Mirzoev says he was suffering from "panic attacks and intrusive thoughts."

After a consultation, the psychologist reportedly chalked up the disgruntled man's complaints to the fact he had been regularly viewing Perviy Kanal's content for several years which, according to the complaint, "was dominated by negative news."

In an analysis presented to the court, 78.2% of the broadcaster's coverage was deemed to be "devoted to crimes, military conflicts and man-made disasters."

Mirzoev is now seeking $135,000 for "moral damage," in addition to nearly $7,000 to pay for his psychologist's bill, required to "restore his psychological well-being." A judge will hear the claim.

While it might seem like a remote issue, academic analyses have found that news coverage of current affairs across the world tends to be predominantly negative. Another recent study found that during the Covid-19 pandemic, reporters and broadcasters in the US painted an overwhelmingly dire picture of the situation, while departing from the more balanced realities in scientific journals or from international media.

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