The Jan. 26 cover of the nation’s most circulated Ukrainian-language newspaper was blank, save for a page two teaser that read: “We Demand a Fair Trial.”
In the newspaper, the Lviv-based Express accused Lviv Oblast Governor Mykhailo Kostiuk and the Lviv branch of the pro-presidential Party of Regions of attempting to orchestrate the closure of the newspaper through commercial courts.
The newspaper’s co-owner and chief editor Ihor Pochynok told the Kyiv Post that the Lviv Commercial Court is being used by Kostiuk to change editorial policy and make it less critical of the government.
The newspaper’s founding company, Express Media Group, had a crucial statutory document canceled by a recent commercial court ruling, and if the ruling stands, makes it difficult to conduct business activity, Pochynok said. The group is appealing the court ruling.
Media experts say Express has a reputation for conducting investigations that affect regional and national politics.
Express Media Group prints six newspapers and claims 600,000 subscribers and five million readers. Express newspaper is published three times a week, and has 225,000 subscribers, and six million monthly readers, according to chief editor Pochynok.
The alleged pressure on Express is the latest in a string of incidents that many media experts say mark a decline in press freedom in Ukraine since President Viktor Yanukovych took office in 2010. Journalists complain of pressure to toe the official government line in coverage.
“Given the fact that the judicial branch is being transformed into an effective instrument of censorship, the editorial staff of Express has grounds to believe that the court ruling will favor the authorities,” said Viktoria Siumar, head of media watchdog the Mass Information Institute.
Express newspaper had another conflict with the government recently. In 2010, the tax authorities claimed it owed Hr 2.6 million worth of taxes to the government. The chief editor said the claims were a form of pressure.
But this time, the very existence of the newspaper seems to be under threat. The editorial team called the ruling “treacherous abuse of power” and “judgment by massacre.”
Pochynok said that he has had several meetings with high ranking oblast officials following the court ruling, including one with the governor, who “made it understood that our problems will disappear if we alter our editorial policy.”
In a statement released on Jan. 26, the Lviv Oblast Administration denied being behind the court ruling.
“As of today, no division or department within the Lviv Oblast Administration has a legal, civil or any other kind of dispute with Express newspaper,” the statement said. “The Lviv Oblast Administration always upholds the rights of journalists with regard to freedom of speech and professional activities.”
The Lviv branch of the ruling Party of Regions also denied pressuring the newspaper: “No one from the Lviv branch of the Party of Regions has ever attempted to speak with journalists, including those from Express newspaper, from a position of force, threats or intimidation.”
In an online response, the Express said that the authorities, in their efforts to influence the media, have begun using sophisticated methods: “Today they are simulating commercial conflicts, tomorrow they will print statements by labor collectives at enterprises under their control, who will demand reprisals against objectionable newspapers or journalists, and after tomorrow they will throw the disagreeable behind bars, and so on.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
