THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
More than 120 heads of print media during the All-Ukrainian meeting of newspaper editors held by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) voted to appeal to the Presidential Office, the Government, and the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian Parliament] regarding the need to support Ukrainian newspapers during the war, giving the NUJU a mandate to start negotiations with the authorities.
The appeal emphasizes that, given the importance of information security in times of war, an essential component of such a program should be the support of newspaper newsrooms, especially in the front-line and de-occupied territories. Such support should concern, in particular, the provision of high-quality postal delivery of publications, the availability of newsprint, printing services for publications, etc.
In their speeches at the meeting, the editors, many of whom also maintain their own websites, pages, and channels on social networks, spoke about the importance of preserving the printed press because a large number of Ukrainians are currently unable to use the Internet due to the shutdown of electricity and mobile communications communication (especially in the front-line and de-occupied territories), lack of smartphones and the skills to work with them (mainly among the elderly).
“On the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, where the Internet is not entirely available, where TV repeaters have only recently been installed, Belarusian pro-government and even russian narratives often prevail among people, and the newspaper is often the only link with Ukrainian society, and the latter with the whole world,” noted the head of Volodymyretsky Visnyk newspaper, Liudmyla Bosyk. “So, we are a necessary source of information for people and, in fact, perform the functions of an information front.”
Oleksii Bezuhlyi, the head of the Nashe Misto newspaper from Dnipro, drew attention to the fact that russians in the occupied territories literally bombarded people with their printed propaganda.
“The occupiers deliver several of their “newspapers” to people’s homes. They “restore” newspapers that have not been published for many years as the locals know and respect them. So, the occupiers turn such newspapers into a tool of their propaganda,” the journalist emphasized.
In his emotional speech, the editor of the Tvii Vybir newspaper from Volyn, Taras Khotymchuk, talked about the high cost of postal and printing services, which makes newspapers very expensive and their subscriptions unaffordable for the readership.
“We ask and beg the authorities and deputies not to kill newspapers!” urged the editor. “People want to read and subscribe to the press, but they can’t because of the high cost…”
Summarizing the discussion, the President of the NUJU, Sergiy Tomilenko, emphasized the importance of introducing a state policy of support for mass media, in particular, print media.
“The state must ensure access of all citizens to high-quality verified information, and therefore – to promote the functioning of various types of media, including printed ones, especially where there is no alternative to such publications,” emphasized Sergiy Tomilenko.
As earlier reported, the restoration and development of the printed press, especially in the front-line and de-occupied territories, are among the priorities of the NUJU. So far, with the help of the Union, it has been possible to resume the publishing of 30 such publications, some of which have received stable multi-month funding thanks to NUJU‘s international partners.
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