Dnipro media community convinces Channel 11 employee to apologize for his remark about people with disabilities
The creative producer of the Dnipro-based Channel 11, Oleksiy Kyrylenko, made an inappropriate remark about the likely candidates for the post of Suspilne Dnipro editor-in-chief. He was faced with a backlash from the local media community. Later, Kyrylenko and the TV channel's management publicly apologized.
This was reported by the IMI representative in Dnipropetrovsk oblast.
Oleksiy Kyrylenko posted an Instagram story announcing that Suspilne Dnipro was looking for an editor-in-chief. The job description stated that the channel was "willing to hire a disabled person." In his post, Kyrylenko added the caption, "Dear TV hosts, maybe you know someone who wants to work on TV? Judging by the description, they'll take whomever, so it's a good opportunity!!!"
Screenshot by Valeria Kholodova
The Dnipro media community saw Oleksiy Kyrylenko's post as mocking of the company's readiness to employ a disabled person.
Journalist Valeria Kholodova was the first to point this out publicly. "In a world that is fighting for equal rights and opportunities, an executive of a prominent Dnipro media outlet is mocking Suspilne's readiness to hire persons with disabilities as managers. In his opinion, this means that the channel will employ 'whomever,'" she wrote on Facebook.
Screenshot by Olha Vasylets
Later, Kyrylenko responded to the comments and wrote an apology. "I used an unfortunate phrasing for my opinion. What I meant was that anyone stood a chance. And it turned out sounding like discrimination of people with disabilities. In no way did I want to discriminate, discredit, let alone insult people with disabilities. I just wanted to spread the word and give people the opportunity to get a decent job! I apologize if I offended anyone," he wrote on Instagram.
Screenshot by Olha Vasylets
Natalya Magda, CEO of Channel 11, also responded to comments about the inappropriate remark, noting that she had already resolved the situation.
"I find it unacceptable for anyone, especially the media, to humiliate or issue incorrect statements about people with disabilities! I, as the head of Channel 11, have already resolved the situation. I spoke with Oleksiy. He admitted that he had failed to express his opinion properly and had meant no offense to people with disabilities. He wrote an apology post about it," she wrote on Facebook.
Screenshot by Olha Vasylets
Olha Vasylets, Kateryna Dyachuk
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