Employees of the “United News” telethon received a reservation from mobilisation
8 April 2024 19:30
The TV channels participating in the United News telethon are recognised as critical to the functioning of the economy and the vital activity of the population during the special period. This status implies that the telethon’s employees receive mobilisation reservations. The relevant orders are published on the website of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, Komersant ukrainskyi 
reports.
According to the decrees of the Ministry, companies including Teleodin LLC, My-Ukraine LLC (My-Ukraine TV channel), Studio 1 1 TV channel, MK TV channel LLC (ICTV TV channel), Inter TV channel, and state Enterprise “Parliamentary TV Channel “Rada” (TV channel “Rada”) and Joint Stock Company “National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine” (TV channel “Suspilne Novyny”), meet the criteria of critical importance for maintaining the functioning of the economy and ensuring the vital activity of the population during the special period.
Thus, all of these institutions have reservations for 50% of persons liable for military service.
According to Interfax-Ukraine, since the beginning of 2024, this status has also been granted and confirmed to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Ukrainian National News Agency Ukrinform, Novy Kanal LLC, Starlight Media LLC, and STB TV Channel LLC, Khmarochos Media LLC, UNIAN TV LLC, the representative office of Deutsche Welle, TET TV Company, NBM TV Company, as well as the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and a number of other enterprises, institutions and organisations whose activities fall within the competence of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.
It should be noted that on 4 April, Kommersant Ukrainskyi published an article on 4 April on whether journalists will eventually have reservations and which media outlets are entitled to them.
In his commentary for Kommersant Ukrainian, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn said the following.
“All media workers will be booked according to the same procedure as employees of other enterprises and companies. There will be no special procedure for booking media workers,” he said,
– he said.
Serhiy Shvets , secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, also believes that there should be no separate reservation for journalists.
“If a journalist is a person with a disability or has three or more children, or any other official reason, they should be exempt from service. That is, everything that is provided for on a general basis should also apply to journalists. I am against exceptions. Journalists are no different from other citizens of Ukraine,”
– he summarised.
Serhiy Shvets, who used to work as a special correspondent and anchor himself, noted that many of his former TV colleagues had long ago gone to fight at the front.
According to the MP, he himself will join them after completing his parliamentary term.
The head of theNational Union of Journalists, Serhiy Tomilenko, said that media outlets that are supported by taxpayers have the right to apply for armour to some of their employees, but the final decision is made by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Culture.
“To ensure the sustainability of the marathon in 2022, it was decided to book media workers involved in both the United News and the foreign broadcasting marathon (FreeDom). However, the Government, in particular the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Defence, determines the amount and other details. The Ministry of Culture can answer how and who is booking now,”
– Tomilenko said.
While some national TV channels have the right to book a number of their employees, regional media almost do not have this option.
“There are small regional media that are really important to their audience. Over the past year, we have had several cases where all men were taken from such newsrooms, and the newsroom itself was closed because it could not work with only two journalists,”
– said the executive director of the Institute of Mass Information.
Oksana Romaniuk adds that the media play an important role in times of war, but the issue of booking journalists is actually quite controversial.
Read more in the article:
Is there areservation for journalists in Ukraine: what do editorial offices and parliament say?
