“We see an incredible journalistic responsibility before the reader,” NUJU First Secretary Lina Kushch

The topics of how the mass media work in wartime, how they survive, and what problems they face were covered by Lina Kushch, the First Secretary of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), at the Second International Scientific and Practical Conference, called Green Construction and held by the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture.

This follows from a statement by the Slovo publication.

Lina Kushch offered the conference participants to watch a film about journalists at war. Over 50 journalists have been killed, and dozens have been injured… Many journalists were captured by the Russians and tortured, and many of them risked their lives and health to get out of the Russian occupation… The full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation significantly impacted the lives of media workers.

Lina Kushch drew everyone’s attention to the fact that the war had a significant impact on the mass media and the earning potential of their employees. Many newspapers have been shut down, some have switched to the online format, and many journalists have lost their jobs and salaries and become information volunteers. And these are far not all the problems that the mass media are currently facing.

But since the first days of the full-scale war, the NUJU has tangibly supported media workers and the media themselves, including with the help of international partners.

Thus, over 2,000 journalists in a problematic situation received material assistance. Laptops, cameras, power banks, etc. – i.e., the things without which journalists work is currently impossible, can also be provided by the NUJU. As well as the means of protection (body armor, helmets, tactical first-aid kits) for those whose business trips are related to work in the combat zone.

Thanks to the union’s support, dozens of newspapers got a financial boost to resume their work, another help that is so necessary for this challenging time.

“And in these conditions,” notes Lina Kushch, “we see the indomitability of our press, especially local newspapers; we see incredible journalistic responsibility before the reader. And also the fact that in the conditions of this war, where the offensive is going on all fronts, directly in the combat, information, propaganda spaces, people especially value those media that they trust, and therefore want to read them, so they become important both for individual communities, as well as for society in general.”

The conference covered new approaches in construction and urban planning, based on the latest ecological trends, on a frugal attitude to natural resources, on building materials that will make buildings comfortable and pleasant to live in… Architects discussed what our cities should be like – not only beautiful and elegant but also comfortable in terms of ecology. For this, various projects in the field of green urban planning are being developed.

Of course, specialists are interested in making their work known to the general public, namely to those for whom they work. Therefore, stories about architectural curiosities and familiarizing Ukrainians with them in the mass media are essential.

Inna Kosianchuk