What will help Ukrainian media to survive: training in Chernivtsi

Now, it is extremely important to preserve independent local media as an important institution of democracy in Ukraine. This was the topic discussed during the training course called Ways To Increase Media Stability and Preserve Audience During the War, which was held for journalists and media managers in the Chernivtsi office of the Unified Western Ukrainian Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC) of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU).

Editors of local newspapers, journalists, and students of the Department of Journalism of the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University took part in the discussion of pressing issues that constantly appear before the local media. It is about their continued existence on the media market of the state.

The speaker of the meeting/lecturer at the Department of Journalism of the University/honored journalist of Ukraine and long-time editor-in-chief of a local magazine, Volodymyr Stefanets, emphasized the important components, with the help of which it is still possible to save independent local media working closest to their consumers.

“Targeted financial and technical assistance would probably help preserve independent Ukrainian media as an important institution of democracy during the war. 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,” Volodymyr Stefanets emphasized.

It is advisable to direct similar programs to the development of independent media, namely:

• their technical re-equipment;
• wages of media workers;
• training of creative workers;
• training of media managers of independent media;
• improving the qualification level of “advertisers;”
• mandatory development of multimedia and cross-media projects.

“It is to the development of the digital component, the introduction of the latest technologies, and the improvement of the efficiency of management and advertising departments that it is worth directing investments or subsidies to the founders of traditional media,” believes Yaroslav Lyzhnyk, the long-time editor of the Storozhynets-based newspaper Ridnyi Krai.

Internal and external assistance should also be directed to the implementation of special measures to promote truly independent and high-quality media trusted by society.

During the regulation of the media market, the economic support of media enterprises should become a priority. Of course, security issues in the conditions of war with the russian occupiers have priority over all others. But in order to preserve independent media in Ukraine, it is vital that all initiatives to regulate the media sphere take into account not only political and social, but also economic needs.

“Numerous measures aimed at saving the media market will not make any sense if the majority of the media will turn into dependent “battle cards” that are not trusted by the audience. The main threat to independent Ukrainian media is not humanitarian but material – finance, management, and technology. Therefore, without solving the problems in these areas, programs aimed only at the protection of freedom of speech and the fight for the rights of journalists will be ineffective,” says Anatolii Isak, deputy editor-in-chief of the Pohliad newspaper.

Suppose the journalistic community, civil society, the state, the business environment and international institutions are unable to do anything to help the current crisis on the Ukrainian media market. In that case, all Ukrainian media, including local media, are threatened with degradation and decline.

Call the Unified Western Ukrainian JSC Lviv-Chernivtsi at 097 907 9702 (Nataliya Voitovych, the Lviv JSC coordinator, and Volodymyr Bober, an assistant). The Center’s address is 5 Solomiyi Krushelnytskoyi Street.

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.

Information service of Unified Eastern Ukrainian JSC