Although press freedom in Ukraine has never been rated higher that "partly free" by Freedom House it is still considered to be among the freest of all post-Soviet states[1][2][3][4] and has significantly improved since the Orange Revolution of 2004.[4][5][6] In 2010 however Freedom house perceived "negative trends in Ukraine".[7]
According to the US Department of State in 2009 there were no attempts by central authorities to direct media content, but there were reports of intimidation of journalists by national and local officials.[8] Media at times demonstrated a tendency toward self‑censorship on matters that the government deemed sensitive.[8][9] Stories in the electronic and printed media (veiled advertisements and positive coverage presented as news) and participation in a television talk show can be bought.[8] Media watchdog groups have express concern over the extremely high monetary damages that were demanded in court cases concerning libel.[8]
The Constitution of Ukraine and a 1991 law provide for freedom of speech.[10]
In Ukraine’s provinces numerous, anonymous attacks[6][8][9][11] and threats persisted against journalists, who investigated or exposed corruption or other government misdeeds.[12][13] The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists concluded in 2007 that these attacks, and police reluctance in some cases to pursue the perpetrators, were “helping to foster an atmosphere of impunity against independent journalists.”[14][15] Media watchdogs have stated attacks and pressure on journalists have increased since the February 2010 election of Viktor Yanukovych as President.[16]
In Ukraine many news-outlets are financed by wealthy investors and reflected the political and economic interests of their owners.[6]
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After the (only) term of office of the first Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk ended in 1994, the freedom of the press worsened.[17] During the presidency of Leonid Kuchma (1994–2004) several news-outlets critical to the him were forcefully closed.[18] In 1999 the Committee to Protect Journalists placed Kuchma on the list of worst enemy's of the press.[18] In that year the Ukrainian Government partially limited freedom of the press through tax inspections (Mykola Azarov, who later became Prime Minister of Ukraine, headed the tax authority during Kuchma's presidency[19][20]), libel cases, subsidization, and intimidation of journalists; this caused many journalists to practice self-censorship.[10] In 2003 and 2004 authorities interfered with the media by issuing written and oral instructions about what events to cover.[21][22] Toward the very end of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election campaign in November 2004, many media outlets began to ignore government direction and covered events in a more objective, professional manner.[22]
Since the Orange Revolution (of 2004) Ukrainian media has become more pluralistic and independent.[4][5][6] For instance, attempts by authorities to limit freedom of the press through tax inspections have ceased.[21][22][23][24][25][26] Since then the Ukrainian press is considered to be among the freest of all post-Soviet states.[2][3][4]
In December 2009 during the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election campaign incumbent Prime Minister of Ukraine and presidential candidate[27] Yulia Tymoshenko complained Ukrainian TV channels are manipulating the consciousness of citizens in favor of financial and oligarchic groups.[28]
In Spring 2010 Ukrainian journalists, the European Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders all complained of censorship by President Yanukovych's administration.[29][30][31] This despite statements by Yanukovych how deeply he values press freedom and that ‘free, independent media that must ensure society’s unimpeded access to information’.[29] Anonymous journalists stated early May 2010 that they were voluntarily tailoring their coverage so as not to offend the Yanukovych administration and the Azarov Government.[32] The Azarov Government denies censoring the media,[33] so did the Presidential Administration[34] and President Yanukovych himself.[35] Presidential Administration Deputy Head Hanna Herman stated on May 13, 2010 that the opposition benefited from discussions about the freedom of the press in Ukraine and also suggested that the recent reaction of foreign journalists organizations had been provoked by the opposition.[34] On May 12, 2010, the parliamentary committee for freedom of speech and information called on the General Prosecutor's Office to immediately investigate complaints by journalists of pressure on journalists and censorship.[36]
A law on strengthening the protection of the ownership of mass media offices, publishing houses, bookshops and distributors, as well as creative unions was passed by the Ukrainian Parliament on May 20, 2010.[37]
Since the February 2010 election of Viktor Yanukovych as President Media watchdogs have stated attacks and pressure on journalists have increased.[16] The International Press Institute addressed an open letter to President Yanukovych on August 10, 2010 urging him to address what the organisation saw as a disturbing deterioration in press freedom over the previous six months in Ukraine.[38] PACE rapporteur Renate Wohlwend noticed on October 6, 2010 that "Some progress had been made in recent years but there had also been some retrograde steps".[39] In January 2011 Freedom House stated it had perceived "negative trends in Ukraine" during 2010; these included: curbs on press freedom, the intimidation of civil society, and greater government influence on the judiciary.[7]
The report Freedom in the World (by Freedom House) rated Ukraine "partly free" since/from 1992[18] till 2003, when it was rated "not free".[40] Since 2005 it is rated "partly free" again.[1][2]
Ukraine's ranking in Reporters Without Borders´s Press Freedom Index has in the latest years been around the 90th spot (89 in 2009,[41] 87 in 2008[42]), while it occupied the 112th spot in 2002[43] and even the 132nd spot in 2004.[44] In 2010 it fell to the 131st place; according to Reporters Without Borders this was the result of "the slow and steady deterioration in press freedom since Viktor Yanukovych’s election as president in February".[45]
During an opinion poll by Research & Branding Group in October 2009 49.2% of the respondents stated that Ukraine's level of freedom of speech was sufficient, and 19.6% said the opposite. Another 24.2% said that there was too much of freedom of speech in Ukraine. According to the data, 62% of respondents in western Ukraine considered the level of freedom of speech sufficient, and in the central and southeastern regions the figures were 44% and 47%, respectively.[46]
In a late 2010 poll also conducted by the Research & Branding Group 56% of all Ukrainians trusted the media and 38.5% didn't.[47]
Under former President Leonid Kuchma opposition papers were closed and several journalists died in mysterious circumstances.[48]
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | April | Volodymyr Ivanov of Slava Sevastopolya, in Sevastopol [49] |
| 1996 | May | Ihor Hrushetsky in Cherkasy[49] |
| 1997 | 13 March | Petro Shevchenko, correspondent for the daily Kyivskiye Vedomosti in Luhansk, Ukraine, is found hanging in an abandoned building in Kiev. He had co-authored articles about disputes between the mayor of Luhansk and the local branch of the Ukrainian Security Services.[50] |
| 11 August | Borys Derevyanko, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian newspaper, Verchernaya Odessa, shot twice and killed while on the way to an editorial board meeting at his office.[50] | |
| 1999 | 16 May | Ihor Bondar director of the AMT television station, was shot and killed in the an Odessa residential neighbourhood, as he was driving in a car with Boris Vikhrov, the Odessa court's presiding judge. The magistrate was also killed in the attack. This double murder was carried out by men with Kalashnikov-style automatic weapons riding in a car.[50] |
| 2000 | 16 September | Georgiy Gongadze co-founded a news website, Ukrayinska Pravda, killed in the Taraschanskyi Raion (district) after being kidnapped. |
| 2001 | 24 June | Oleh Breus publisher of the regional weekly, XXI Vek, was shot dead by two gunmen outside his home in Luhansk. He was shot in the head and back at point blank range as he was getting out of his car. The motive for the murder remains unknown, although colleagues at XXI Vek said they had received threats in recent months. Breus himself narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in December 2000.[50] |
| 7 July | Ihor Oleksandrov, director of the private TV and radio station TOR in Sloviansk, died of injuries sustained on 3 July, when four unidentified men wielding baseball bats attacked him at his office. Local media suggested that Oleksandrov's death was linked to his investigations into corruption and organised crime.[50][51] | |
| 2002 | 27 November | Mykhailo Kolomiets, co-founder of Ukrainian News Agency found dead hanging on a tree in Belarus.[52] |
| 2003 | 14 December | Volodymyr Karachevtsev, 47, deputy editor-in-chief of Kuryer newspaper, was found dead in his home in Melitopol]. He was discovered hanging from the handle of his refrigerator. Karachevtsev was also chairman of the regional independent union of journalists and a correspondent for the online publication, Vlasti.net. Police did not rule out the possibility of murder.[50] |
| 2004 | 3 March | Yuriy Chechyk, director of Radio Yuta in Poltava, died under suspicious circumstances in a car crash. He was on the way to meet with executives of Radio Liberty's Ukrainian Service, which is often critical of the Ukrainian government, to hold talks on rebroadcasting the station's programmes on the more accessible FM band.[50] |
| 2010 | August | Vasyl Klymentyev, a Ukrainian investigative journalist, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Novy Stil based in Kharkiv. He went missing in August and is presumed dead. He had been investigating local corruption.[53] |
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