(Credit: Russia Beyond the Headlines, screenshot)

American journalist and communication professor Beth Knobel addressed advocacy by journalists in Russia, news site Russia Beyond the Headlines reported.

Knobel noted that in the United States at CBS News, journalists can’t participate in protests because of the network’s ethics guidelines.  But, concerning Russian journalists, she said:  “I can’t say that those are the rules that Russian journalists should follow. They should follow the rules that they feel comfortable with.”

Knobel added that the Internet has allowed a “whole different way of spreading new information about Russia” especially outside of the government-released information.

According to a mid-April report by Christian Science Monitor, there have been “mass protests in Moscow and other large cities since the parliamentary elections in early December.”

UPDATE: 4/28/2012 9:19 AM EST: Fixed datestamp. This story was published April 28.