 October 2008, alongside press freedom violations and impediment to practice journalistic profession (at least two of such cases registered this month), was characterized by a number of changes in the relations of mass media owners and staff, including redundancy, not paying salaries or cutting them due to the financial crisis in Ukraine. Among such violations was the Regions party denying comment for a journalist. Further, journalists carrying out their professional duties were attacked at least once in October.
Journalists killed and missing – 0 New data on journalists killed and missing Georgiy Gongadze Journalists arrested and detained – 0 New data on journalists arrested and detained – 0 Journalists attacked, beaten, intimidated - 2 02.10.2008 Journalists were hurt in Pervomayska Street, Kyiv, during the protests against occupation of the Recording House. The guards that had occupied the building threw stones and planks at people taking part in the campaign as they tried to break down the fence. Three guards beat Igor Lutsenko, editor-in-chief of the Financist site, active member of the Save Old Kyiv public campaign. They took his camcorder as he was shooting the rally and the attack. Igor Lutsenko and the police are now trying to get back the camcorder. Another journalist, the UNIAN Information Agency’s photo correspondent Volodymyr Hontar, was also hurt. According to UNIAN’s build-editor Iryna Tymofeyeva, Volodymyr had his legs wounded. Kommersant’s photo correspondent Oleksandr Techynsky was another victim of the attack with his arm broken. He says the police present at the scene did nothing to stop the beating of the journalists. 15.10.2008 Police detained Anatoliy Bannyi, editor the Pryvatna Sprava newspaper, in Poltava. Anatoliy Bannyi tried to take photos of the police detaining one of the activists of the youth NGO Tryzub. Mr. Bannyi says the police, forcing him to give away his camera, pushed him to the ground, put the handcuffs on him and took him to a police car. The journalist stayed for around two hours at the police station, where he had to take a sobriety test. A doctor confirmed the journalist was not under the influence of alcohol. The journalist was released afterwards. New data on journalists attacked, beaten, intimidated – 0 Impediment to practice journalistic profession, censorship - 2 13.10.2008 Most journalists, including the staff of leading information agencies, that had arrived at the Kyiv appellate court, were not admitted to the court hall during the hearing of an appeal, filed by the Presidential Secretariat against the judgment of the District administrative court of Kyiv suspending the president’s decree calling early parliamentary polls. The police guards referred to an order of a court administrator. 15.10.2008 The Regions party denies journalist Olga Vasylevska (Delo) comments over one of her articles, say spokespeople for the party. They say in her article Regions Split Ukraine the journalist deliberately twisted the words of MP Hanna Herman and MP Oleksandr Lavrynovych. The journalist says she is surprised by this reaction of the Regions party. She says she does not find herself guilty and does not understand what false information its spokespeople speak about. New data on impediment to practice journalistic profession – 0 Economic, political, indirect pressure - 6 03.10.2008 Natalia Tuguzova, Russian-language Vremia Novostey’s news presenter on Channel 5, has left the channel. “I was suspended without any warning”, Natalia said. She quoted the channel managers as saying: “After closing down a number of projects, we need to find work for some people”. “I came to work on September 8 and was preparing myself for the program. I had written half of the text when I was told about it (being suspended - IMI). I don’t mind such decisions, but some moral standards, not speaking about the labor legislation, should have been observed”, said Natalia. She was offered to continue working as a journalist, but she refused, she said. 06.10.2008 TONIS channel has started firing journalists. Volodymyr Pavliv, TONIS’ 24 commissioning editor, confirmed he had resigned upon a mutual agreement of the parties. Representatives of the channel call it not massive redundancy, but “program network optimization”, closing shows with low ratings with their staff losing jobs. 09.10.2008 The Radio Rocks (Kyiv, 103,6 FM) has stopped broadcasting. The radio station has been cut off by the RRT concern over failing to pay the bills, Telekritika quotes a source in the Liamin company (Radio Rocks) as saying. The Ukrainian bank Prominvestbank, where Liamin has its accounts, is currently facing serious problems and has had to suspend all transactions. “Though we have money in our accounts, we cannot transmit it. We are now looking for the ways to transmit the money”, the source said. 21.10.2008 Journalists of the Internet edition Obozrevatel have not received the full amount of their salaries for several months, which has been confirmed by project owner Mykhailo Brodsky. The delay has been caused by the economic crisis in the country and “low advertising season”, he said. 22.10.2008 UBC channel does not pay salaries, preparing for massive redundancy of journalists. All part-time journalists, working under a labor contract, have been fired. Some journalists are holding talks with the UBC owner to receive at least reduced salaries. Meanwhile, a number of staff members have already resigned from the channel. UBC’s Agrobusiness editor Iryna Epik says all studio-engineers have already resigned, with only three-four people currently working on the news programs. 31.10.2008 1+1 channel has fired the channel’s I Think So editorial group as the channel has adopted an entertainment format, Mediabusiness reports. The I Think So talk-show was suspended in June, never broadcast since then. But the I Think So editors, led by Hanna Bezulyk, worked on a concept of a new social-political show. Yesterday, they were told however they would be fired. In September 2008 Hanna Bezulyk became a host of the channel’s new project, 100% to Ukraine game show, first broadcast on Fridays, but then shifted to Saturday mornings. New data on economic, political, indirect pressure – 0 Legal actions against the media and journalists - 1 02.10.2008 Valeriy Kolomeytsev, the mayor of Ladyzhin, filed another lawsuit against the Ladyzhinska Gazeta newspaper and journalist Ludmyla Holovashych over inadequate information published by the edition in the article Authorities vs. TES (a thermal electric power plant - IMI). Fighting for Glory covering relations of the TES director with the city authorities. The article was published in the 15-21 May issue. The lawsuit, dated by early August, was filed to the court on 4 September. Valeriy Kolomeytsev demands that the newspaper publish the denial failing though to provide the text of the denial. The court has accepted the lawsuit. New data on legal actions against journalists and mass media – 0 Lawsuits filed by mass media and journalists – 0 New data on lawsuits filed by the media and journalists - 0 ²Ì² |
By Victoria Sumar
The Ukraine MPs are going to resume an old practice of criminal liability for libel. May 17, the MP Vasyl Kyselyov, who had been elected as a member of the Party of Regions list, has submitted a respective bill at the parliament (Verkhovna Rada).
