“Media Freedom is Not a Trifle, but a Key:” A View of the Problem by a Future Journalist by Sviatoslav Makohon

Young participants from different parts of the Precarpathian region, as well as representatives of schoolchildren from the Lviv, Rivne, and Zhytomyr Regions, were united by the thematic essay and video essay competition called Our Freedom Depends on Freedom of the Press, initiated and organized by the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Union of Journalists and the Ivano-Frankivsk JSC, co-organized by King Danylo University higher educational institution and Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University. The youth shared their vision of the issue. We are publishing the best works of the competition winners. Here is the view of Sviatoslav Makohon, a 4th-year student of the Department of Journalism, Faculty of Philology, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University.

“Our freedom depends on freedom of the press”

Today’s world is primarily a world of information and hybrid wars. The propaganda offensive is becoming increasingly fierce. Asymmetric influences – information wars – are increasingly dominant in politics. These are wars fought for space: whoever fills it – owns it. It is not for nothing that Winston Churchill once said: “Who owns the information, owns the universe.” These words have not lost their relevance.

Let’s consider the example of the russian propaganda platform Russia Today. It speaks ten languages: Hindi, Arabic, English, Spanish, etc. It is a telecratic system that forms a monopoly of influence. The threat is that russian media are promoting South Asian influences into the European information space. This is an occupation without troops, which begins with minds and then with territories. Imagine: RT receives annual funding of about 28 billion rubles – that is, approximately USD 300–400 million per year. For comparison, the budget of the Voice of America is USD 267 million. This gives RT an advantage in coverage, content production, and influence in the global information space.

The disappearance of Western media influence opens the door to autocracy. In such countries, a loyal electorate is formed, convenient for the Kremlin or Beijing. Pro-Kremlin parties are gaining significant results in Slovakia, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania – from 13% to 30%. Their rhetoric is anti-migration, anti-European, and populist. In some countries, these parties are already part of the governments.

It is the free media that is counter-propaganda. They broadcast the Western system of values. And the Voice of America is not just the voice of the United States, it is the voice of the entire free world. It is not for nothing that during the USSR, Radio Liberty was silenced, and the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Leonid Brezhnev, sought to destroy it. If independent European media disappear, Europe as a political, economic, and cultural entity will disappear.

Today, the media shape worldviews and model meanings. In the war for identity, the winner is not the one who has the most tanks but the one whose paradigm dominates. We see a similar situation in the Philippines, where Chinese investors are gradually gaining control over strategic industries: infrastructure, telecommunications, and media. This creates an information environment without an alternative. As soon as something happens, the necessary plot instantly appears. While the U.S. is reacting, China is already acting. Such is it, the post-truth world, where freedom is slavery, and war is peace, as George Orwell wrote. In the world, information is the main weapon, and freedom of speech is the first line of defense.

That is why media freedom is not a detail but the key. It is critically important because it determines whose meanings, whose rights and freedoms will prevail, and, therefore, who will shape the landscape of the reality in which we live.

REFERENCE INFORMATION. The essay and video essay competition Our Freedom Depends on Freedom of the Press is aimed to draw the attention of young people to the role of freedom of speech in affirming human rights, combating disinformation, and forming conscious citizenship. All works were full of sincerity, critical thinking, and a deep understanding of the modern challenges facing the press. Each author’s work deserved attention for its originality of ideas, well-reasoned opinions, and creativity in presenting the material. Winners, prize-winners, and participants of the competition were awarded diplomas, valuable gifts, and certificates.

The network of Journalists’ Solidarity Centers is an initiative of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, implemented in collaboration with the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO and with the support of the People of Japan. Our primary goal is to assist media professionals working in Ukraine during the war. The Centers are active in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk. The project is part of UNESCO’s broader efforts to support the Safety of Journalists and Freedom of Expression in Ukraine.

Call the Ivano-Frankivsk JSC at 066 677 0726 (Viktoriya Plakhta, the coordinator of the Ivano-Frankivsk JSC). The Center’s address is 25 Sichovykh Striltsiv Street.

Ivano-Frankivsk JSC