Media Environment in Ukraine: Regional Breakdown

1. Media Environment in Ukraine: Regional Breakdown Kyiv, September 23, 2012

2. Administrative pressure on media/pressure from parties • “Jeansa” (paid-for coverage) • Lack of access to the decision making process • Lack of professional training • Lack of adequate reaction to serious investigative materials • Lack of journalists’ solidarity and unity COMMON PROBLEMS

3. Administrative pressure on media • Lack of adequate competition between media • Politicians and authorities block journalists’ access to the decision making process • Biased materials • Lack of professional training • Unequal access of candidates to media • Frustration • Serious journalism, analytical materials are not in demand (tabloidization) • Investigative materials do not receive an adequate feedback from the authorities EAST

4. Self-censorship • Pressure on municipal media from the ruling party, pressure on other media from all the parties (Svoboda case) • Intimidations • Lots of “Jeansa” publications • “Tabloidization” of mass media, loss of reputation • Courts and prosecutor’s officials do not protect journalists and ignore their complaints • Journalists are not properly trained and not united Investigative materials do not receive an adequate feedback from the authorities • Politicians request journalists to show them articles before they get published • Lack of journalists solidarity WEST

5. Municipal media do not hide their pro-Party of Regions bias • Privately owned media publish a lot of “jeansa” and are not interested in analytical materials • Censorship • Journalists are not let in to the state authorities’ meetings although they have a right to be there • Courts and prosecutor’s officials do not protect journalists and ignore their complaints • Investigative materials do not receive an adequate feedback from the authorities • Journalists are intimidated and lacking some sort of professional unity, they don’t know how to protect their rights • Lack of proper professional training CENTRAL UKRAINE

6. Investigative materials do not receive an adequate feedback from the authorities • Journalists do not know how to protect their rights • State officials break the law and violates the rights of journalists and nobody cares • Lots of “black PR” in media • Authorities impede journalists from doing their job • Crimea: influence of Russian media. Russian media influence public opinion in Crimea more than local media do • Zaporizhzhia: intimidations SOUTH & CRIMEA