Targeted financial and technical assistance would help preserve Ukrainian independent media during the war

Editors of local printed publications, journalists, and students of the Department of Journalism of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University participated in the discussion of pressing issues of media activity, challenges caused by the full-scale war, during the roundtable for journalists titled Practice Of Relocation Of Media And Organization Of Work In New Conditions with the participation of the Chernivtsi Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC) of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU).

The event took place in the newsroom of the 6262.com.ua website. The relocated newsroom of the media from Sloviyansk, Donetsk Region, is now successfully working in Chernivtsi. Media professionals shared their experience on how to save their own media.

The speaker of the meeting/founder and CEO of the Maie Sens media holding, the well-known media manager in Ukraine, Valerii Harmash, emphasized the important components that helped to save the newsroom, move from Sloviyansk to Chernivtsi and successfully work today in Bukovyna.

During the roundtable, the meeting participants also discussed the rescue of Ukrainian media, the problems faced by local media organizations, and how independent journalism can still be saved.

Specifically, to preserve independent Ukrainian media as an important institution of democracy during the war, targeted financial and technical assistance would probably help. The latter should categorically not be accompanied by direct political or commercial influence on media content. These can be both internal and external targeted grants or charitable projects that will contribute to the financial recovery of the independent media system.

Similar programs could be directed to the development of independent media: their technical re-equipment, payment of media workers, training, improvement of the qualification level of “advertisers,” mandatory development of multimedia and cross-media projects.

It is also advisable to direct internal and external assistance to the implementation of special measures aimed at popularizing truly independent and high-quality media that society trusts.

There is no doubt that security issues in the conditions of war with the russian occupiers have priority over all others. But for the preservation of independent media in Ukraine, it is vitally important that all initiatives to regulate the media sphere take into account not only political and social but also economic needs.

The numerous measures aimed at saving the media market will not make any sense if the majority of the media turns into dependent and third-rate, which is not trusted by the audience. The main threat to independent Ukrainian media today is not humanitarian but material, in particular, finance, management, and technology.

Suppose the journalistic community, civil society, the state, the business environment, and international institutions cannot do anything to help the current crisis on the Ukrainian media market. In that case, all media, including local media, are threatened with degradation and closure.

ABOUT JSC

The Journalists’ Solidarity Centers is an initiative of the NUJU implemented with the support of the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO. The initiative is designated to help media representatives working in Ukraine during the war. The Centers operate in Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro and provide journalists with organizational, technical, legal, psychological, and other types of assistance.

ABOUT UNESCO

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication, and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding. It is the coordinator of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which aims to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers, thus strengthening peace, democracy, and sustainable development worldwide. UNESCO is working closely with its partner organizations in Ukraine to provide support to journalists on the ground.

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this digest do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this digest and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit to the organization.

NUJU Information Service