Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the team of the A.C.C. Media Agency have found themselves in an extremely difficult financial situation. In particular, participation in the projects of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), which were successfully implemented together with international partners, the initiative of the Ukrainian Media Fund, Gazeta Wyborcza Foundation, helped to maintain and continue the work of the Agency, says Media Director Oksana Danyliuk.
“Our company was created as a self-financing organization, and has always ensured its livelihood through the sale of advertising. However, since the beginning of the war, earnings have been equal to zero, or were completely meager. Our media adheres to the rules of honest journalism, so we do not have any subsidies from anyone. In such conditions, the help provided by the NUJU became an integral part of our rescue and gave us the opportunity to survive. We have kept our journalist team and continue to work honestly, impartially, reliably supporting the information rear. We thank the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, together with the Ukrainian Media Fund and the Gazeta Wyborcza Foundation, for supporting our work,” the editor notes.
During the program of assistance to Ukrainian media in 2022, the NUJU, with the strong support of partners, Ukrainian Media Fund and Gazeta Wyborcza Foundation, provided financial assistance to 43 newsrooms.
In the content projects entitled We are from Ukraine! and Journalists are important!, initiated by NUJU, 36 media outlets participated on a regular basis. They received financial assistance from partners for a period of two months or more. In particular, 29 regional and local newsrooms are among the project participants. Seven all-Ukrainian media, with a total audience of over 3.5 million readers, also received assistance from the NUJU and the Ukrainian Media Fund. Thanks to the help, 25 Ukrainian media – participants in the NUJU projects – were able to pay for the printing of their newspapers.
During the period the project We are from Ukraine! has been implement, more than 480 author’s materials about strong-spirited Ukrainians who help their compatriots during the war have been published or broadcast in local and national media. In two months of implementation of the initiative Journalists are important! media participants of the project have published more than 80 materials about the work of their colleagues.
The Ukrainian Media Fund’s initiative was launched by the Gazeta Wyborcza Foundation together with partner organizations of media companies in the Scandinavian countries. The fund was established as a sign of solidarity with journalists and photographers who report daily from the frontline in Ukraine. Its main goal is to mobilize international support – both financial and material – for local mass media in Ukraine. Thus, through the Ukrainian Media Fund, protective equipment and equipment for work were transferred to Ukrainian journalists. The aid included laptops, power banks, photo and video cameras, tripods, and smartphones.