If you’re giving a billion for infrastructure, give 1% for the media – Sergiy Tomilenko

A recent publication by the Norwegian journalistic media outlet, Journalisten, presents the topic of the importance of newspapers in front-line territories. The publication tells readers in Norway about the local press that the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) has resumed operations after a halt due to the war.

“The economic crisis is the biggest problem for these local newspapers,” Sergiy Tomilenko, the President of the NUJU, said in a comment to the publication.

Major topics:

• 7 out of 10 editors of front-line newspapers are women;
• some publications have resumed printing even in cities such as Lyman, Izium, and Kupiyansk;
• newspapers remain the only source of information in destroyed communities;
• people trust local media because they are about life nearby.

The article presents the NUJU not as a “formal aid provider,” but as a team that actually travels to places, seeks solutions, negotiates with printing houses, and supports editors.

“We are afraid that the newsrooms will give up. That is why we are looking for resources, support, and partners for them. When I was in Brussels, I said: ‘If you give a billion euros to restore the infrastructure, then maybe you can also allocate one percent for the media.’ If there is political will, there is a way,” the publication quotes NUJU President Sergiy Tomilenko.

NUJU Information Service