THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
Support for local media in wartime and the safety of journalists became the main topics of the expanded meeting of the Board of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) on January 23, which was held with the participation of more than 50 colleagues from all regions of Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, 2024 was an extremely difficult year for regional and local media. Due to the economic crisis caused by the war and the lack of a state support policy, newspapers and TV channels are closing every month,” noted NUJU President Sergiy Tomilenko.
He criticized the position of some media organizations that recommend donors not to support regional media.
“This is a dishonest policy. Today, it is journalists in the regions, in front-line media, who are much more responsible,” the NUJU President emphasized.
NUJU First Secretary Lina Kushch emphasized that the number one challenge for Ukrainian media remains the safety of journalists – newsrooms are being relocated from front-line areas, journalists are adapting to working under fire, and coordinators of Journalists’ Solidarity Centers are moving events to shelters or conducting them online… Taking this into account, the NUJU is increasing support for media professionals, from security and first aid training to training on new grant opportunities.
One of the most important priorities is protecting freedom of speech and releasing colleagues from captivity, as at present, at least 30 Ukrainian media professionals remain in russian captivity.
“By international standards, the Ukrainian topic is in third place in the priorities of leading world agencies, after the US elections and the situation in the Gaza Strip. Now we have to work three times harder to get half as much as before,” Lina Kushch emphasized.
The participants in the meeting proposed a number of initiatives to support the media. In particular, the NUJU Secretary Kostiantyn Hryhorenko advocated the introduction of a national press card for journalists and strengthening the self-regulation of the industry through editorial policies. He also called for the creation of a map of the information landscape of Ukraine to understand the real state of the media.
The Head of the Dnipropetrovsk organization, Oleksii Kovalchuk, supported the idea of a national press card and proposed delegating its issuance in the form of plastic ID cards to the NUJU central office for proper verification of journalists who actually work in the media.
The Head of the Vinnytsia organization, Maryna Teplenko, shared her experience of implementing a “club card” for a NUJU member, which provides discounts on various services provided by other members of the Union.
Representatives of the front-line regions spoke about working in extreme conditions.
According to the executive secretary of the Zaporizhzhia organization, Valentyna Manzhura, six local journalists are in captivity. The organization maintains contact with some colleagues in the occupied territories. Zaporizhzhia journalists, led by Nataliya Kuzmenko and Valentyna Manzhura, created a unique Foreign Correspondents Club, uniting colleagues who were forced to go abroad. They continue to write about Ukraine maintaining contact with their homeland.
The Head of the Kherson organization, Valerii Dolyna, reported that none of the six local TV channels in the region is working, and only one of the five radio stations has resumed work. The occupiers have installed powerful equipment for broadcasting propaganda across the Dnieper River.
In Sumy Region, according to the head of the regional organization Volodymyr Sadivnychyi, one media outlet works in the zone of active hostilities, and the editorial teams of almost 100 media outlets are in the zone of possible hostilities. “Four kilometers from the russian border, our colleagues deliver the newspaper to readers every week, sometimes under snipers’ sights,” said Volodymyr Sadivnychyi.
Executive Secretary of the Kyiv organization of the NUJU Alla Maliyenko spoke about the work of the capital’s branch, emphasizing the individual approach to each member of the union, active cooperation with displaced journalists, and successful fundraising projects for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Oleksandr Kharchenko, a member of the NUJU Board from the Kyiv organization, spoke about the creation, in accordance with the Law On Media, of a new public union – a joint regulatory body in the field of print media, which will cooperate with the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting and develop broadcasting codes and requirements for information in the media. He called on colleagues to join the work of the expert groups of this organization.
The Head of the Kirovohrad regional organization of the NUJU, Petro Melnyk, spoke about the situation with the media in the Kirovohrad Region, where, despite the closure of some publications due to problems with Ukrposhta, it was possible to increase the number of media outlets that receive funding from the regional budget (from 5 to 15 publications), as well as about the successful experience of newsrooms in obtaining grants and developing multimedia platforms. The situation with the media in the Odesa Region was described by the Head of the regional organization, Yurii Rabotin. In the Odesa Region, 14 district newspapers with circulations from 250 to 3,000 copies continue to operate (with the largest total circulation of 64,000 copies per week). Representatives of the western regions also noted a reduction in the number of media.
According to the Head of the Chernivtsi organization, Volodymyr Bober, at the end of 2024, two newspapers were closed in Bukovina, and two more were on the verge of closure. The Head of the Rivne organization, Dmytro Tarasiuk, spoke about the forced eviction of the regional organization from the premises despite the existence of a law prohibiting the eviction of creative unions.
At the meeting of the Board, it was noted that a powerful tool for effective assistance to journalists in times of war is the network of JSCs, whose hubs operate in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, and Kyiv. At the same time, the centers assist requests from media workers from all regions.
The Board unanimously supported the priorities of the NUJU for 2025. Key areas:
- Protection of journalists and freedom of speech
- Systemic assistance to regional and local media
- Solidarity with imprisoned colleagues
- Development of a network of JSCs
- Strengthening international cooperation
Also, at the proposal of the Secretary of the Union Mykola Semena, with the support of the Secretary of the NUJU Oleksandr Bryzh, a decision was made to award the National Prize for the Protection of Freedom of Speech named after Igor Lubchenko to the journalist from Nova Kakhovka, imprisoned by the occupiers, Serhii Tsyhipa. “Under any government, he was inconvenient; he always fought for the truth, for which he suffered a lot. And now he has remained true to his inner core,” said the Head of the Kherson organization of the NUJU, Valerii Dolyna.
“2024 was another year in the conditions of a grueling war. The NUJU tried to be a powerful voice in defense of Ukrainian journalists and journalism both in Ukraine and in the international arena,” emphasized the NUJU President, Sergiy Tomilenko, summing up the meeting. “We are joining forces to help Ukrainian media professionals so that as many of our colleagues as possible remain in journalism and do not leave our profession.”
NUJU Information Service
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