The project of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) entitled We are from Ukraine! have become a favorite project at the editorial office. This is how Ivanna Rudyshyn, the editor-in-chief of the VolynPost news agency, says about participating in it. The publication has joined two projects of the Union, thanks to which it was able to work effectively in the most difficult times. Thanks to their participation in the projects of the NUJU, the best participants were able to receive financial support from the Ukrainian Media Fund initiative, which was founded by the Gazeta Wyborcza Foundation together with partner organizations of media companies in the Scandinavian countries.
“During the implementation of the project We are from Ukraine!, we wrote 13 stories about Ukrainian men and women who selflessly rushed to rescue others from the trouble caused by the war. Without exaggeration, we can say that the project has become editorial office’s favorite one at least since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. First of all, thanks to the fact that its life-affirming stories gave journalists strength and faith in the victory thanks to such heroes and heroines. The project inspired us to work and tell these stories so that as many people as possible learned about the examples of heroism of ordinary Ukrainians. Secondly, this project stabilized the economic situation in the publication at a time when desperation due to lack of money reached its maximum,” Ivanna Rudyshyn notes.
As Ivanna Rudyshyn notes, this support helped pay salaries, pay for communication services and technical support for the site.
“During the crisis caused by the war, the project became a lifeline and, no less important, showed that journalist solidarity works, that there is a community and it is capable of extending a helping hand. Without hesitation, we can state that the opinion of the editorial community about the effectiveness of the NUJU’s work changed exactly thanks to close cooperation within the framework of this project, and later, observing the activities of the Union, we became increasingly convinced of its effectiveness in the desire to help Ukrainian media. When people were in despair because of the outbreak of war, life-affirming materials about their fellow countrymen gave them strength and supported the fighting spirit. People needed such texts, and the project We are from Ukraine! became the impetus for their systematic creation,” adds Ivanna Rudyshyn.
As an example, the number of views of the first text created as part of the project about a woman from Lutsk, who sheltered several families of displaced people, reached 25,000 views.
“The work within the framework of the project Journalists are important continues. We are currently preparing new author publications about the work of colleagues during the war. This pretty much unites media community, which, in Volyn in particular, has always been divided into separate competing “workshops” (editorial offices). The war and the work of the NUJU, aimed at helping representatives of various mass media from different regions, showed that we are all in the same boat.
Journalists are important! We can tell the world the truth by countering the Russian propaganda machine. Not only those who currently work in the war zone are important, but also those who show the life of their communities, far from the front, because today there is not a village, town or city in Ukraine that has not been touched by the war and its consequences. That is why it is important to maintain economic stability and do everything to keep the Ukrainian mass media working!” concludes the editor.
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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, have provided financial assistance to 43 editorial offices.
36 media outlets on a permanent basis took part in the content projects entitled We are from Ukraine! and Journalists are Important! and initiated by the NUJU. They were receiving financial assistance from partners for a period of two months or more. In particular, 29 regional and local newsrooms are among the participants in the projects. Seven all-Ukrainian media companies, 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 companies – participants in the NUJU projects – were able to pay for the printing of their newspapers.
During the operation of the project We are from Ukraine!, initiated by the NUJU with the support of the Ukrainian Media Fund and the Gazeta Wyborcza Foundation, more than 480 author materials about strong-spirited Ukrainians who help their compatriots during the war were published or broadcast in local and national media. In two months of implementation of the initiative called Journalists are Important! media participants of the project published over 80 materials about the work of their colleagues. The project is still underway.
The Ukrainian Media Fund initiative was founded by the Gazeta Wyborcza Foundation together with partner organizations of media companies in the Scandinavian countries. The fund was founded 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. through the Ukrainian Media Fund, protective equipment and equipment for work, in particular, laptops, power banks, photo and video cameras, tripods, and smartphones were transferred to Ukrainian journalists.
