Reporters Without Borders present 8 points for strengthening journalism in Ukraine, mention Espreso TV

The organization sent its proposals to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General. 

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Secretary General Christophe Deloire noted that the situation in Ukraine is historic. "We are impressed by the media’s resilience despite this environment, and we want to help democratic Ukraine to continue on this road, hence our proposals to strengthen its information space." According to him, the roadmap should help rebuild a democratic media environment in Ukraine and solve existing problems: the organization will recommend that President Zelenskyy implement it and monitor the implementation of the recommendations. 

RSF Eastern Europe and Central Asia Bureau Chief Jeanne Cavelier called for the removal of obstacles to accreditation of journalists at the front and any discrimination against the media in covering the war. "With nearly 15,000 journalists accredited to cover the war, media accreditation is a major challenge for the Ukrainian authorities," she said.

While welcoming the recently adopted law on media, Cavelier emphasized that there are still some aspects that need immediate improvement. She mentioned that it is not always possible to express oneself freely during the United News telethon. She suggested that Espreso and other channels should be promptly reintegrated into the national digital broadcasting system, from which they had been excluded over a year ago.

Svitlana Ostapa, the head of the oversight board of Ukraine’s recently created public broadcaster, also spoke about the telethon, calling for an end to the "national news marathon" which was needed at the start of the war but no longer was, she said.

Oksana Romaniuk, Director of the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), thanked Reporters Without Borders for their visit and support and expressed hope that media pluralism and high-quality independent Ukrainian journalism will continue to develop.

In general, Reporters Without Borders made the following recommendations: 

• End arbitrary restrictions and discrimination with regard to media covering the war

• Encourage media pluralism and independence

• Safeguard funding for journalism

• Encourage quality journalism in the digital and economic ecosystems by implementing the Journalism Trust Initiative’s emergency protocol

• Join the International Partnership for Information and Democracy, a multilateral initiative launched by RSF with the aim of devising and implementing democratic safeguards in the digital domain

• Develop and promote the legislation proposed under the name of “system for the protection of democratic information spaces” 

• Combat impunity for crimes of violence against journalists by ensuring that this is a priority for the justice system

• Ensure that those responsible for the propaganda that has incited war crimes are brought to justice.

• On April 4, 2022, the BRT Concern switched off Espreso, Priamyi and Channel 5 from digital broadcasting. The TV channels sent letters to the President, the National Security and Defense Council, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense, and the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting regarding the shutdown. The State Service for Special Communications stated that Espreso had been removed from the digital broadcasting in pursuance of the NSDC decision.

• Mediarukh and the Commission on Journalistic Ethics called on President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to intervene in the situation with the disconnection of news channels from the digital airwaves and explain the reasons for such actions by the BRT concern. In addition, more than 150 representatives of Ukrainian scientific and cultural intellectuals and even members of the Polish Sejm and senators appealed to President Zelenskyy in support of the TV channels.

• In January 2023, the International Federation of Journalists noted: "We are extremely concerned about the authoritarian drift of the Ukrainian government towards the media and journalists. There cannot be a democracy without independent journalism."

• On the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the TV channels' blackout, the international organization Reporters Without Borders appealed to the Ukrainian authorities and called for guaranteeing the pluralism of information by resolving the problem as soon as possible.