Jim Troyer (Austin, MN)
Posted on August 12, 2005
By Jim Troyer
After a week touring newspapers, radio and television outlets in Minnesota, four Ukrainian editors may be a little closer to choosing a model for independent media in Ukraine.
They talked about their experience in a round table discussion and news conference at Riverland Community College in Austin, Minnesota.
The four, from weekly regional newspapers in Ukraine, were in the United States at the invitation of the "Open World" program of the U.S. Congress.
Ukraine, they agreed, is still adjusting to changes brought about by independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the triumph of their country's Orange Revolution of 2004-2005. That movement began as a reaction to electoral fraud during Ukraine's presidential runoff election of Nov. 21, 2004 and led to the election of Viktor Yuschchenko.
Inna Klyshko tied the movement directly to the current role of newspapers in her country. "The Orange Revolution," she said, "made people realize that their views won't be noticed if they don't stand up for themselves. People want information on how to defend their rights."
That newspapers, especially the regional weeklies, have taken the lead in bringing objective reporting to the Ukrainian people, was a common theme among the four. Radio and TV outlets, and the larger "group owned" papers got lower marks.
The TV stations are privately owned, Sasha Churynova noted. "They are told what to cover and the print media [which remains objective] is the winner."
Klyshko said she discovered that public radio and television here is a better model for 'independent media' than commercial news outlets. "Publishers might have to follow the policies of their owners, but public radio and TV puts the interest of the public first," she said.
"Only a newspaper that can support itself can be really independent," said Tetyana Kalmykova. "We must sell ads to be independent."
Asked if their papers put ads on the front page, all the editors said 'no,' but Churynova noted that there is a continuing struggle at her paper between editorial and advertising departments. Readers, she noted, complain that ads and news stories appear on the same page.
In answer to a question from Harry Stevens, who coordinated the visit of the journalists, all four said that no editorials are run in their papers. "You've got to remember what our recent history is," said Klyshko. "The people understand one party ideology. Now there are 100 parties."
Churynova sees weak circulation as the biggest threat to newspapers in Ukraine. "Newspapers here have more readers," she pointed out. "Right now, it is impossible for us to have daily papers."
Konstantin Gorokhov, a publisher from Yalta in the Crimea, however, defended the economic model for newspapers in the United States. It's a circle, he said. "The readers decide what they want; that increases circulation, and circulation increases advertising, which provides more money to satisfy readers."
Riverland Community College President Dr. Terrence Leas joined the discussion, noting the common challenge of the college and the media "to search for truth and the free exercise of ideas."
Leas announced that RCC instructor Richard Nicolai is now beginning teaching English composition to three Ukrainians. The distance learning program is reaching RCC's sister college in Kherson, Ukraine, via the internet. Americans are also taking the course on line.
(c) copyrighted by James Troyer <troyers1@charter.net> on August 12, 2005 in Austin, Minnesota, USA
[Reprinted with Permission]
