Journalists, experts and international organizations discuss new trends in Ukraine’s media during a round table in Washington on Jan. 29.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Russian media propaganda is starting to backfire in Ukraine. Ukrainians are becoming increasingly angry and disappointed in slanted news coverage by the Russian media and are turning to national sources for information. This is one of the new trends discussed by Ukrainian media representatives, scholars and international sponsor organizations during a round table in Washington on Jan. 29, organized by the National Endowment for Democracy.
Ukrainians who say Russian is their first language have traditionally relied on information coming from Moscow. Some 29 percent of the population polled in a 2001 census said Russian is their first language, but other estimates put it at much higher. Nevertheless, those habits are slowly changing as they become increasingly turned off by Russian news, said Ihor Lylo, director of political shows at the Lviv Wave radio station.
“Ukrainians consume news programs in Ukrainian, Russian and English. When they watch Russian TV channels the information is so untruthful that people become angry,” Lylo said. “Russia is doing everything possible to make Ukraine independent.”
Russian speakers are increasingly watching Ukrainian-language news.
Myroslava Gongadze, a journalist from Voice of America (VOA), which broadcasts some programs in Ukrainian, said that most of the letters and commentary she receives come from eastern Ukraine, where the Russian language is dominant. She said many viewers are disappointed with the quality of Ukrainian news as well, but lack knowledge of English to take the next step and switch to English-language news.
Gongadze added that as satellite TV becomes more affordable in Ukraine, more Ukrainians can satisfy their hunger for news with greater versatility.
Another clear trend is a growing importance of the Internet in the Ukrainian society.
“The number of Internet users has grown to 17 percent of the Ukrainian population and this is a great result, taking into account that before 2000 the Internet was very rare,” she said. Myroslava’s husband, Georgiy Gongadze, murdered in 2000, created Ukrainska Pravda (www.pravda.com.ua), one of the most popular information sites on the Ukrainian web.
The Internet also frees its users from the dangers of consuming too much information slanted in favor of the media owners, or their opponents. “All Ukrainian private TV channels defend somebody’s political interests,” Gongadze said. “I want to be optimistic, but we are back again.”
Lylo said slanted information is part of editorial policies and is still presented as news most of the time. “Private media owners are affiliated with political parties and every Ukrainian TV channel supports certain political forces. Authorities and political parties pay for materials to be published without any disclosure rules,” Lylo said.
Dangers in the media sector are not limited to private owners pushing their agenda, though. Other power brokers, like government authorities, can affect the editorial policy by targeting advertisers to block sources of revenue for private media outlets overly critical of the government. Moreover, investigations of violence against journalists are obstructed by authorities while journalists frequently face libel cases, experts said.
Libel cases seem to be developing a trend of their own: libel tourism. Wealthy Ukrainians are going to court outside of the nation to sue Ukrainian media outlets. Rinat Akhmetov, the country’s richest man with a fortune estimated at $31 billion by Korrespondent magazine last summer, set the trend in 2008 by suing the Kyiv Post and Obozrevatel website (Observer) in a United Kingdom court, where tough libel laws place the burden of proof on the defendant.
Although the Kyiv Post had few subscribers in Great Britain and Obozrevatel publishes online in Russian, Akhmetov claimed that his reputation was damaged because both websites can be accessed in Britain. He settled out of court with the Kyiv Post and won 50,000 British pounds in the case against Obozrevatel.
Better training of journalists in media law can solve some problems, experts said.
In the United States, journalism schools provide such courses routinely, and some universities even offer dual degrees – in journalism and in media law. In Ukraine, journalists are often unaware of their rights, while the fear of being sued discourages discussion of important matters of public interest, Lylo said.
A public TV channel would also help to raise standards and make the media more independent.
“It is necessary to set aside the money guaranteed by the Ukrainian parliament for public broadcasting and appoint a [supervisory] watchdog organization,” Lylo said. “If every citizen understands that he is paying a tax, maybe even $1 a year but he knows that this is a public TV station, we will have a tremendous step forward.”
Yuliya Melnyk is the Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent.
