Cherkasy regional media workers: “It is important for us to survive”

“Not only the work of journalists is important, but also what happens to journalists themselves,” said the First Secretary of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), Lina Kushch, presenting the Union‘s project Murdered Free Speech in Cherkasy.

Within the framework of the project, 102 video stories were prepared about 104 journalists who suffered from the Russian invaders, being captured, surviving the physical and psychological pressure of the occupiers, becoming displaced people, losing their jobs, and having the opportunity to do their favorite work.

The stories comprised by the project implemented by the NUJU with the financial support of the Swedish non-profit organization Civil Rights Defenders are also evidence of the crimes of the Russian occupiers against the media companies and media workers. After all, the invaders, interested in depriving Ukrainians of objective information, make media people their targets. However, aggression against journalists and the media is recorded so that evil is punished.

Lina Kushch also spoke about the fact that there are six NUJU‘s Journalists’ Solidarity Centers (JSC) operating in the regions of Ukraine, to which, if necessary, you can turn for help. After all, it is not only warlords and displaced media workers who need it.

“To date, we have created a network of six JSCs that operate in Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Chernivtsi. A journalist from any region can contact the Centers, get advice and help,” Lina Kushch emphasized.

Almost all media in Ukraine have faced a number of problems since the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. According to the NUJU, 22% of newsrooms were affected by the Russian invasion.

Thus, according to the results of a study of the needs of local newspapers in the de-occupied and front-line territories, 60% of newsrooms do not have the funds to pay salaries, and 17% do not have any funds at all.

By the way, some publications go online or work in the format of information volunteering. And this applies not only to the media in the de-occupied and front-line regions. The war crisis affected most regional publications: advertising fell, and it became more difficult to conduct subscription campaigns; by the way, part of the media did not participate in the subscription campaign.

The NUJU, with the support of international partners, strives to support local media because printed newspapers are often the only source of information in the front-line areas. Lina Kushch showed Cherkasy media workers the newspapers that have resumed publishing thanks to the NUJU. Their number is already approaching 30.

Cherkasy media representatives also spoke about their urgent needs and problems.

For example, Halyna Dobrovolska, the editor of Na Khvyli Korsunia radio (Korsun Town), said a mini-invincibility point was created in her newsroom. Radio employees work under challenging conditions but strive to create quality content because they see that people need local information.

“It is important for us to survive. Only powerful holdings can exist. But local media are also important. So local mass media must work further!” noted Halyna Dobrovolska.

The Cherkaskyi Krai newspaper is also working in challenging conditions. Its editor and head of the Cherkasy regional organization of the NUJU, Tetiana Kalynovska, said that in winter, it was cold because they worked without heating, and there were problems with light. And although the volume of the newspaper had to be reduced, and the journalists were transferred to one-third of their salaries, the publication managed to be preserved and even attract subscribers.

The advertising poster of the newsroom also reminds people about the newspaper, saying, ‘Read the Cherkasky Krai newspaper!‘

“During the war, journalists fight against fakes and disinformation; they tell about what is happening both in the peaceful territory and the combat zone,” notes Tetiana Kalynovska.

By the way, the newsroom also has its own soldier – Vasyl Marchenko, who, despite his age, has been to the front dozens of times, communicating with our defenders. The NUJU provided him with personal protective equipment – a bulletproof vest and a helmet – without which it is impossible to be on the front line.

Tetiana Uralova, a journalist from the Donetsk Region, an expert on network security issues of the CJS network, currently living in Cherkasy, spoke about the need to know the safety rules in order to follow them. She shared the experience of operating in dangerous territories she gained while working as a war correspondent. And she gave a number of tips to the media, among which the most important thing is not to neglect safety rules, definitely obey the military, and not to play a “hero,” putting oneself and others at risk.

NUJU Information Service