THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
Mass layoffs of mail carriers across the country stop newspaper delivery and deprive Ukrainians of access to vital information during the war.
This follows from the appeal to the President of Ukraine, the Government, and the management of Ukrposhta, adopted at an extended meeting of the board of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) on July 6.
“We strongly oppose the elimination of Ukrainian newspapers. We are holding and striving to continue holding the information front. But we need help, which is extremely important,” the appeal says.
The NUJU emphasizes that newspapers are on the verge of bankruptcy due to the reduction in the number of mail carriers, the closure of subscription departments at regional directorates and post offices, and the presence of bureaucratic procedures. The delivery cost is increasing, reaching 30% of the entire newsroom budget. At the same time, the constant reduction of Ukrposhta employees has a highly negative effect on the timely delivery of the newspaper to subscribers.
“This is killing printed publications read by millions of people throughout Ukraine,” the appeal authors emphasize.
Misunderstandings with Ukrposhta force newspaper publishers, especially in the front-line territories, to look for ways to deliver publications to readers on their own.
The Union inappropriately proposes to create a working group with representatives of the Presidential Office, the Government, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the NUJU, and newspaper publishers to find a joint solution regarding the further work of Ukrposhta.
The NUJU website publishes the full text of the appeal. The participants of the extended plenary session of the board request the Ukrainian media to publish it on their pages.
To
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Presidential Office Head Andrii Yermak
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal
Culture and Information Policy Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko
Director General of Ukrposhta Ihor Smilianskyi
Dear representatives of Ukrainian authorities and Ukrposhta,
Glory to Ukraine!
We, the management and active members of the NUJU and heads of all regional organizations of the Union, appeal to you in connection with the critical situation that occurred as a result of the absence of practical cooperation between the newsrooms of Ukrainian newspapers and the JSC Ukrposhta throughout the territory of Ukraine. Newspapers, both those with century-old history and those created in the days of Independent Ukraine, have found themselves on the verge of bankruptcy and shutdown. And this happened at a time when the information front is no less important than the military front.
Due to Ukrposhta’s reform, which reduces the number of mail carriers and closes subscription departments at regional directorates, stationary, and mobile departments, due to bureaucratic and artificial obstacles to signing contracts, publications have not been able to sign contracts on the distribution of their newspapers for months. At the same time, the cost of newspaper delivery paid by Ukrposhta can amount to 30% of the entire budget of a newsroom. This is killing print media read by millions of people throughout Ukraine.
The constant reduction of employees of Ukrposhta has an extremely negative effect on the timely delivery of newspapers to their subscribers. And this applies not only to remote villages but also, often, even to regional centers, where post offices are supposed to work “perfectly.” Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding with Ukrposhta, even in wartime, many newspapers are forced to create their own newspaper delivery services, which many cannot afford. On the other hand, editors-in-chief and other newspaper employees themselves work as postmen in order to distribute newspapers even in such unbearable conditions. This particularly applies to front-line and de-occupied territories, where there is often no communication, national television signal coverage, and a newspaper is the only source of information for Ukrainians.
In response to appeals to the regional managers of Ukrposhta to normalize relations and find an effective mechanism, the newspapers are directed to the central office in Kyiv, which “is conducting the reform” and “makes” all decisions. And there, more and more often, stationary post offices are being shut down even in front-line de-occupied settlements, leaving post office workers with ten years of work experience without a place to work.
We strongly disagree with the ruining of Ukrainian newspapers. We are holding and striving to continue holding the information front. But we need help, which is extremely important.
We propose to urgently create a workgroup with representatives of the Presidential Office, the Government, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the NUJU, and newspaper publishers to find a joint solution regarding the further work of Ukrposhta to preserve the Ukrainian periodicals in wartime and lay the foundation for its development.
Glory to Heroes!
Best regards.
NUJU President Sergiy Tomilenko
Adopted at an extended meeting of the board of the NUJU on July 6, 2023.
NUJU Information Service
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