It is time to revive local newspapers in the front-line territories

The resumption of the publishing of local newspapers and the provision of people with the necessary information in the de-occupied and near-front territories is one of the priorities of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU). Possibilities and ways of reviving the local press as the main carrier of information in the current conditions, experience, problems, and prospects, as well as the role of the NUJU in this process, were discussed at the meeting organized by the Zaporizhzhia Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC). Its participants were editors of local newspapers, regional media workers, and immigrant journalists.

It was under the patronage of the Union, with financial assistance from international institutions and UNESCO and the support of the JSC, that in April 2023, the Trudova Slava newspaper from Orikhiv was the first in the Zaporizhzhia Region to resume publishing after a long break.

“It was very difficult to start everything from scratch in a new place,” recalls Svitlana Karpenko, the editor-in-chief of Trudova Slava. “We needed funds, equipment, and people. The leadership of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine supported us in this important matter, and Orikhiv local government members and representatives joined in. Almost the entire circulation of the first issue of the newspaper was delivered to Orikhiv, which, at that time, suffered the most from shelling. There, the newspaper was awaited a lot, and the residents were extremely happy. Now, the newspaper is delivered to almost all communities. By the end of the year, we will have 16 issues in our portfolio,” says Svitlana.

According to the editor-in-chief, delivering the newspaper to the villages of the Orikhiv District is one of the biggest challenges, as the territory suffers a lot from shelling. And yet, the publication reaches its reader. Displaced people living in the regional center also receive a newspaper.

“Trudova Slava is possible only thanks to the assistance of the NUJU and at the expense of international grants. All because you can’t expect someone to do everything for you. We have to look for opportunities ourselves,” says Svitlana Karpenko. “Obtaining grants is very difficult. Out of fourteen of my applications, only one was granted. But the effort was worth it. Support was provided by a media foundation from the Netherlands. With the funds provided by it, we purchased laptops, a printer, two mobile phones, and two voice recorders,” the editor noted.

The small team of Trudova Slava was also helped by fellow countrywoman Oksana Brovko, who heads the Association of Independent Regional Publishers. From her, the editorial office received a project for printing a newspaper for six months, a laptop, and a charging station.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to Sergiy Tomilenko, the President of the NUJU, Nataliya Kuzmenko, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional organization of the NUJU, and Valentyna Manzhura, the executive secretary, for their constant support and practical help,” says Svitlana. “It is thanks to this that not only have we restored and now, publish the newspaper but are also working on obtaining a grant for eleven months and creating our own website. The Journalists’ Solidarity Center helped us find reliable website developers. We believe that everything we plan will come true.”

Following the example of their colleagues from Orikhiv, in October, again with the help of the NUJU, Huliaipole journalists resumed publication of their newspaper. At the beginning of the war, they ran their website, Huliaipole.City. But later, this also became impossible. Because there is no communication or Internet in the bombed-out city, it suffers from constant shelling. Therefore, the local newspaper for the residents of the front-line areas and the migrants from Huliaipole became a breath of fresh air in the literal sense. The editor of the Holos Huliaipillia publication, Tetiana Velyka, talked about her experience.

“I am very grateful to the NUJU for the material and moral support of our decision to restore the newspaper. We are glad that you believed in us; the small team works with full dedication. At the end of the year, we published four issues of the newspaper. We write about our heroic soldiers, about volunteers, about the life of front-line communities, and about the people of Huliaipole who, despite everything, remained on their land under constant shelling, where there is often a lack of water and food. But they fight and believe in victory.”

When the first number of the revived Holos Huliaipillia was distributed, people could not hold back tears; they were so happy. We distribute the newspaper near the Polohy hub. If possible, we also deliver it to some villages that can be reached because the entire territory is under constant shelling. However, we certainly cannot provide everyone with a free newspaper. Therefore, we organized a subscription for 2024. And from the new year, the employees of Ukrposhta will be engaged in the delivery of newspapers to communities.

Kateryna Zavarzina, the editor-in-chief of the Nashe Zhyttia newspaper from the Ukrainian-controlled town of Novomykolayivka, joined the roundtable via Viber. She said that with the beginning of the war, the newspaper did not stop publishing because the town, although it comes under fire from time to time, is still much further from the front line than Orikhiv and Huliaipole.

“The three of us remained in the newsroom,” says Kateryna. “But, despite all the difficulties, we keep the information front because we see how important our little newspaper is for people, how much they need it. When there are interruptions in delivery, everyone calls: where is our newspaper?

We write not only about the war and our heroic soldiers and volunteers. There are many displaced people from neighboring areas in our town, so we pay attention to their problems as well. We try to solve them and support people with our journalistic word.

Regarding our pressing editorial issues. Everything is fine with technical support in the newsroom. But paper and printing are too expensive. We would really need support in this matter,” said Kateryna Zavarzina.

Incidentally, we should note that another local newspaper, Dniprovski Vohni, is published in the city of Vilniansk, Zaporizhzhia Region. Last year, she stopped going out for a while. However the new editor, Oleksandra Kot, was able to organize a small team and restore publication.

So far, due to a number of problems, the Chervonyi Promin newspaper from the Zaporizhzhia District has not been able to resume publication, although there was an attempt: with the help of the NUJU, one issue of the newspaper was published. As noted by its editor, Nataliya Stina, the newsroom currently maintains its own website, but a local print edition is definitely needed on such a large territory occupied by the Zaporizhzhia District.

The result of a fruitful creative conversation in the JSC was a proposal to turn to the President of the NUJU, Sergiy Tomilenko, with a request to organize an online meeting at the JSC (perhaps with the involvement of foreign partners) with the editors of local newspapers in Zaporizhzhia. There are currently five of them in the territory controlled by Ukraine. The meeting is proposed to discuss the possibilities of restoration and regular publication of these publications, their tasks and problems, and ways to solve them.

Valentyna Bystrova

Photo by Daria Zyrianova