THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
The Law On Media may lead to increased self-censorship in Ukrainian independent media. This was stated by the First Secretary of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Lina Kushch, in a comment for the Espreso TV.
“The new Law establishes a system of sanctions for all media, from prescriptions to fines and termination of activity. Moreover, the list of grounds for such sanctions is quite wide. For small media these fines can be deadly, and challenging the fine in court will take time and money. In order to avoid sanctions from the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting, journalists will refuse to cover hot topics. This will lead to self-censorship and restriction of freedom of speech in Ukraine”, the First Secretary noted.
The Law On Media entered into force today, March 31. From this day on, the National Council will regulate the activities of all media, including audiovisual, print and online.
According to Lina Kushch, the implementation of the Law will require time and resources from the editorial offices.
“Even to understand the text of the law, which is more than 300 pages, and to follow updates on the website of the National Council, journalists have to spend more than one day. Journalists are not against the media acting in accordance with current legislation, but against the additional costs of administration that the Law On Media entails”.
NUJU information service
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