Blocked accounts, lack of electricity supply, Internet connection, banking services, no money are nonsense compared to constant shelling from the territory of Russia. Those were the conditions that the staff of the Vorskla newspaper from Velyka Pysarivka had to work in. But the newspaper managed to go on being published though in a form of a “combat leaflet” at first. Thanks to the participation in the projects of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the support of international partners Ukrainian Media Fund and Gazeta Wyborcza Foundation, which provided financial assistance, Vorskla was able to cover the primary costs, including the repair of the premises destroyed by the occupiers.
“Colleagues were excited to receive the news that the funds had been allocated to support our publication on the initiative of the NUJU in May. This was the first money we felt physically, because in shops we bought everything in credit as well as in credit did we agree on printing the newspaper. We paid off a part of the debt and began to look more confidently into the future, because we understood that fellow journalists from the Union will help us in the future as well. Someone asks for rain in the summer for the gardens and wheat, but we were hoping that they would bypass our editorial office, because the roof and windows had been damaged in shelling of the editorial office. The heating system broke. Advertisers were in no hurry to return to the border community, 30% of local residents left the territory, Ukrposhta in its traditional style only destroyed new subscriptions, which means even minimal income into the newspaper’s budget. What funds to make repairs with, how to prepare for rainy autumn and snowy winter? And there was assistance again, and again from the NUJU!” says Oleksii.
He notes that the participation in the project called We are from Ukraine! became a lifeline for the publication.
“This project of the NUJU is pleasant, inspiring, and very easy to implement, because real heroes living and working around us are worth being written about. The first reward for the first month of participation in the project allowed us to allocate funds for urgent roof repairs. The next month brought us a bonus in the form of a partial repair of the heating system, and another one let us repair the balcony door. The invitation to another project Journalists are Important gave us a new start of ideas and opportunities. The opportunity to write about colleagues on the website of the NUJU encouraged us to improve the quality of the content, because we talked about colleagues who are at the forefront of the information front, about those we should take an example from,” the editor-in-chief notes.
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In the framework of the assistance program for 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.
36 media outlets participated on permanent basis in the content projects entitled We are from Ukraine! and Journalists are Important! 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 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. 25 Ukrainian media – participants of the NUJU projects – were able to pay for printing of their newspapers thanks to the assistance.
During the We are from Ukraine! project, initiated by the NUJU with the support of Ukrainian Media Fund and Gazeta Wyborcza Foundation, more than 480 author materials about strong-spirited Ukrainians who help compatriots during the war were published or broadcast via local and national media. In two months of implementation of the initiative Journalists are Important! media participants of the project published more than 80 materials about the work of their colleagues. The project is still underway.
The Ukrainian Media Fund 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 daily report from the frontline in Ukraine. Its main goal is to mobilize international support – both financial and material – for local mass media in Ukraine. In particular, thanks to the Ukrainian Media Fund, Ukrainian journalists were provided with protection and various equipment: laptops, powerbanks, photo and video cameras, smartphones, etc.
