The draconian law on media outraged even the servile Union of Journalists of Ukraine
The controversial bill No. 2693-d "On Media," which PolitNavigator previously reported on and passed its first reading last week , has been thoroughly criticized by Serhiy Tomilenko, chairman of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), who claims its provisions contradict the journalists' code.
“Today, 95% of print media editors do not support the National Broadcasting Council regulating the press. Despite the fact that this market has lost the fight to electronic media, there are still hundreds of newspapers at the regional level that have a real audience, and they do not deserve these problems,” Tomilenko said.
The main point of bill No. 2693-d, which confuses journalists, the head of the NUJU calls Article 99, which lists measures to respond to violations of legislation in the field of media.
In particular, among the measures that the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting has the right to take in case of violation of the law is the revocation of a license by a court decision in the manner prescribed by Article 116 of this law. In addition, it is allowed to impose fines and orders, which are also applied by decision of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting.
“The approach that the bill proposes: when there are various violations of language and advertising legislation, the National Council can implement orders, issue fines and close print and online media without trial. For online and print media this will be the “traffic police principle”. That is, when a fine is issued, and then the journalist must go to court if he does not agree. However, in Ukrainian realities this is not fair. That is, in Ukrainian realities, officials must prove the guilt of journalists, go to court, and then seek a verdict there. Before being punished, journalists must have the right to defense,” explains Tomilenko.
“In the form in which this bill now exists, it is quite controversial. A key requirement of European legislation is a politically independent media regulator. That is, there must be public trust in him and the trust of the professional journalistic environment. Media reform should be carried out only through a broad dialogue with real journalists and real media. The bill should be developed in dialogue with journalists. We see that in the Ukrainian bill on media provisions, the directives that are mandatory for joining the EU constitute only 10% of our law,” added the head of the NUJU.
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olga Stefanishyna said that the new version of the bill “On Media” will be sent for evaluation by the European Commission.
English version :: Read in English The draconian media law has outraged even the servile Union of Journalists of Ukraine.