THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
“When you see the power of journalistic solidarity, how people work to help you, it’s easier to believe in the good, and that makes you want to work harder and better,” said Vira Iliyina, deputy editor-in-chief of Technopolis, with confidence.
The city of Kramatorsk has always been industrial and surrounded by slightly smaller cities such as Druzhkivka, Kostiantynivka, and Sloviyansk. This group of cities made up a kind of technological and industrial policy. Therefore, it was no surprise that a newspaper with the logo Technopolis appeared in Kramatorsk in May 1992.
Back then, a group of enthusiasts gathered. They believed in their abilities and decided to publish a genuinely independent regional newspaper.
Recalling those first days of the newspaper, deputy editor-in-chief Vira Iliyina says: “The plans were huge, a large creative and friendly team was working. The cities of the region had their own correspondents, freelancers, and local historians collaborated with the newspaper, so the information was comprehensive and quickly interested a wide audience.”
They published a weekly newspaper on 32 and 28 pages in A4 and A3 formats. The circulation was over 20,000 copies. Until 2009, the publication had been published in color.
The founders created the newspaper and let it float freely; therefore, from the first days, the team always relied only on themselves – money for the publication of the newspaper was earned through circulations, which were distributed through retail sales, as well as advertising, which, thanks to the popularity, was a lot in the weekly.
Filling the website and social networks with information is not a big problem for Technopolis journalists because they have developed good ties over the years, which now comes in handy. In addition, the coronavirus has taught me to work remotely, so there are no problems with communication either.
The newsroom receives official information from the city and regional authorities and correspondents who, since the beginning of the large-scale war, have worked on a volunteer basis to transmit materials. In addition, journalists are called by citizens and often report on important events in Kramatorsk and other cities.
At least two dozen news items in the feed and a plus – interesting analytical publications give the site high traffic. And this, in turn, even in such a difficult time, brings advertising and, albeit small, income to the editorial office.
The well-known Ukrainian public organization Internews-Ukraine, which provides topics for materials, came to the aid of Technopolis journalists.
Good intentions and thoughts were materialized by NUJU
The good thoughts of the editor and his deputy were first materialized by a kind tip given by an employee of the Horodenka-based newspaper Krai, Olha Kovaliv. It was she to tell Vira that she should contact the head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC) of the NUJU, Viktoriya Plakhta.
And then, according to my interlocutor, everything was like a miracle.
With the advice and help of Viktoriya Plakhta, Vira Iliyina wrote a letter to Sergiy Tomilenko, the President of the NUJU, where she spoke about the desire of the Technopolis editors to resume printing the newspaper.
The answer from the Union was quick and concise: “We support your desire to preserve the newspaper; the funds for the resumption of printing will be transferred to your accounts, so start preparing an issue for printing.”
They immediately held an online team meeting and started working on the issue. It came out with a volume of eight pages, and the following printed issues of Technopolis are to be of the same size.
Colleagues informed us that printing the issue at the Vinnytsia printing house Press Corporation Limited would be very profitable. We used the advice and are grateful for it. An agreement was signed with the Donetsk directorate of Ukrposhta, with which the newspaper has had good relations since before the war.
The agreement with Ukrposhta referred to the sale of the newspaper at post offices in the part of the Donetsk Region controlled by Ukraine. It was also agreed that if Technopolis subscribers who kept receipts for 2022 contact the post office, the newspaper will be delivered to their addresses. The rest of the circulation was distributed at press outlets in Kramatorsk. And they were not mistaken as people buy the newspaper at post offices and points of sale.
The notice about the resumption of printing and the possibility of receiving the newspaper under subscription in 2022 was posted on the publication’s website, and colleagues from other Kramatorsk publications also posted notices about it on their websites.
People read and thank the editorial staff. They also wanted to know whether it was possible to place private ads in the newspaper, and now a small column of such ads has been gathered in the second issue of the printed newspaper.
Olha Voitsekhivska, Journalist of Ukraine
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