AN AWARD-WINNING Russian newsreader has been sacked from broadcasting duty – after giving US president Barack Obama the ‘middle finger’ gesture live on air.

Tatiana Limanova, who presents the news on the commercial REN-TV channel, was introducing an item about how Dmitry Medvedev’s government was assuming the presidency of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group.

Mentioning Obama’s US administration, who had hosted the last APEC conference in Hawaii two weeks ago, Limanova then waved her middle finger in front of the camera – apparently thinking she was not being shown on air.

Reuters quoted a channel spokesman as saying the gesture was actually a signal to the studio editing team and should not have been taken to infer anything else.

Nonetheless, the channel told AFP that the episode was a “gross violation of on-air discipline and unprofessionalism” and said Limanova would not be appearing on any further on-air bulletins.

Though REN-TV’s owner, media magnate Yuri Kovalchuk, is thought to be close to prime minister Vladimir Putin, his channel is supposedly perceived as one of Russia’s genuinely impartial broadcasters.

Video credit: dalekqg on YouTube