The European Commission has said that it should be reassessed whether the national telethon “United News” in Ukraine is the best platform for the free exchange of views among Ukrainians. UNN reports this with reference to the European Commission's report on the progress of the candidate states.
The report notes that the main problem concerns the state budget funding of the United News telethon.
In 2023, the Ukrainian government invested public funds in a telethon project. It should be reassessed whether this is the best platform for the free exchange of ideas among Ukrainians
The European Commission noted that the main task of the Rada TV channel should be to disseminate information about parliamentary affairs, including the work of representatives of the parliamentary opposition.
In addition, the European Commission has stated that Ukraine is between a certain level of readiness and a moderate level of readiness in terms of freedom of speech.
Ukraine has made some progress amid the constraints and unfavorable conditions created by the ongoing Russian military aggression, such as a roadmap for rebuilding the post-war media landscape
The European Commission recommends that Ukraine, in particular, should be included next year:
- Ensure the safety and independence of journalists and respect for their role in public information; promptly investigate all cases of intimidation and harassment against them;
- Ensure sufficient funding for the public broadcaster to allow independent public media to fulfill their role as enshrined in Ukrainian legislation;
- continue its efforts to maintain and gradually restore a transparent, pluralistic and independent media landscape, ensuring that restrictions imposed for security reasons are consistent with key public rights and interests, such as access to information and media freedom.
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The Minister of Culture of Ukraine Mykola Tochytskyi said that the national telethon “United News” will continue broadcasting as long as the war continues. He emphasized the importance of the marathon for countering Russian propaganda.
The U.S. State Department's 2023 Human Rights Report on Ukraine states that the United News telethon, a platform for channels that toe the government line in covering the war, has provided an unprecedented level of control over prime-time television news.