This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.Russion lawmakers have approved a bill that would limit foreign media ownership in the country to less than 20 percent.Critics say the measure means big changes for Russia's media landscapeand much tighter controls of information by the Kremlin.NPR's Corey Flintoff reports from Moscow.The bill targets nearly half the publications on display at this news kiosk in Central Moscow.The offerings include business journals such as Forbes,as well as Russian editions of glossy magazines from Playboy and Cosmopolitan to Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.President Putin is expected to sign the measure into law next week.And if he does, these publications will have to sell most of their shares to Russian buyers or else out shut down.Lawmakers who sponsored the measure say it's necessary to curb foreign influence on Russia's information space.This is Sergei Naryshkin, chairman of the lower house of Parliament talking about the bill.This is international, standard practice.When national lawmakers protect their own markets,the goal is clear ― to protect national sovereignty.Other lawmakers go further.They say Russia is defending itself in an information war against the west,and that means protecting so-called information sovereignty.Critics say the foreign-owned publications that are seen as most subversive
