‘The Main Point Is Not to Lie’ – the Issue of Being a Journalist During Information Warfare Discussed at Ostroh Academy

September 15, 2017

World Standards of Journalism in the Context of Information Warfare Seminar took place at the National University of Ostroh Academy on 14 and 15 September.

The event has been organized under the auspices of the Academy of Ukrainian Press and Friedrich Naumann Political Foundation for Freedom (Germany). The speakers of the seminar were Prof Valerii Ivanov, the president of the Academy of Ukrainian Press, Oleksii Matsuka, Radio Liberty journalist and the founder of Social Television of Donbass, and Volodymyr Mostovyi, the founder of Journalist Ethics Committee and Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (the Mirror of the Week) newspaper.

The senior consultant of the project of Friedrich Naumann Political Foundation for Freedom Wolfgang Jon and the manager of this project Volodymyr Oliinyk greeted the participants in the seminar. By the way, that was the first time they visited Ostroh Academy. The guests had the unique opportunity to get involved in its history and after the meeting with the Rector Ihor Pasichnyk they will probably get involved in the future intellectual projects of the university.

As Oleksii Matsuka said, Ukrainian media are more and more often using ‘the language of hostility’ regarding the uncontrolled territories of ATO zone. ‘Therefore the prime objective of editors today is to make media less biased and «toxic», the journalist concludes.

‘Actually it is all easy. The main point of media workers is not to lie to the readers or viewers and stick to the simple standards of completeness, accuracy and ethics’.

However, the thing that upsets Volodymyr Mostovyi the most is excessive dryness of facts about warfare in West Ukraine. Instead of telling that we are losing ‘whole human lives and worlds’ the media announce the statistics.

Prof Valerii Ivanov was talking about the peculiarities of covering nerve-racking but socially important themes, facts of violence and abuse. He drew enough examples from the practice of western journalism and moderated the discussion on journalist ethic.

At the end of the seminar, apart from gaining new knowledge and experience the participants (the students and professors of Ostroh Academy among them) were awarded the certificate of successful accomplishing of course on World Standards of Journalism during Information Warfare and Crisis.