“We must act as a united front”: the reaction of journalists to the censorship of Bankova

Ukrainian journalists expressed solidarity with TV presenter “UA: Pershy” Miroslava Barchuk, who announced pressure from the President’s Office, noting that censorship in the media is a global problem for Ukraine, and not just in a specific case. We’ve compiled a compilation of reactions to the Temnikgate scandal.

Head of the National Union of Journalists Sergei Tomilenko said on Facebook that the authorities should report on respecting the rights of journalists and ensuring freedom of speech and provide clear answers.

“The pressure of the authorities on the editorial policy of the media is unacceptable. Journalists have the right to independently choose the formats and topics of discussion, invite guests to the broadcasts. At the same time, compliance with professional standards and the interests of the audience is a determining factor. But the fact that many Ukrainian politicians refuse to invite journalists to broadcast is this is more proof of the lack of independence of politicians and a rigid (non-democratic) party vertical “– he wrote.

Journalist of “Public” Pavel Kazarin “ran over” the former journalist Sergei Leshchenko, who, according to him, is now defending the authorities.

“Sergei recorded a video in which he accused Zvorotny Vidlik (Countdown) that we did not invite representatives of the mono-majority to the air. Sergei lied. We called the” servants “, but they began to impose their” stop-list “on us. We considered it pressure on the editorial board, refused to play by such rules and said about it at the very beginning of the program “, – he wrote on the Web.

Marina Danilyuk-Yarmolaeva, journalist “Censor.NET” also supported my colleagues.

“They are under pressure on your project, the interview with ICTV has been hidden. There are such specialists in communication that mom don’t cry.”

Hromadske journalist Alexey Bratushchak believes that the problem with censorship in Ukraine has long been global.

“It’s amazing to see how many people woke up in a new reality. Restrictions on freedom of speech and censorship are not the story of a separate channel, a separate project. This is already a systemic phenomenon in the country.”

Correspondent of “Novaya Gazeta” in Ukraine Olga Musafirova I am sure that on the issue of censorship “we must all speak with a united front.”

Leshchenko’s friend and owner of the Telegram channel “Telekoshmar” Dmitry Litvin even criticized Barchuk’s statement.

“For example, on your air about the budget there was not a single expert on financial or business topics, but there was one political expert and one political journalist. You also connected a politically committed economist for a few minutes. Vyatrovich and Areshonkov were real representatives of factions and groups. Zheleznyak does not have the right to represent the faction, he represents only a part of the faction. Why such representation? Did other representatives of political forces and the expert circle also boycott you? “

What is the essence of the scandal

• Barchuk stated that Bankova allegedly “ran over” to the talk show “Zvorotny Vidlik” (“Countdown”) on the “UA: Pershy” TV channel with accusations of non-compliance with journalistic standards. According to her, the President’s Office has long and tightly controlled the presence of “servants of the people” on the air, they say, their campaigns are consistent with Podolyak.
• The journalist reported that instead of two “servants” (they were not experts in the energy issue), they called Lyudmila Buimister to one of the programs, which angered Bankova.
• On the next broadcast, the OPU allegedly set a condition that two “servants” would come if the channel refused to invite the non-factional Geo Leros. After refusing to fulfill the ultimatum, the “servants” did not show up on the air.

As we already wrote, the adviser to the head of the OPU Mikhail Podolyak responded to the accusations of pressure from journalists. He hinted that politicians are simply fed up with biased political talk shows.