IMI director on Suspilne: Removal from primetime undermines parity and balance in the info space
The director of the Institute of Mass Information, Oksana Romaniuk, called for support for Suspilne Broadcasting, which may be removed from the primetime slots of the national telethon "United News", according to her Facebook post.
"I am deeply concerned by the proposal to remove Suspilne from the primetime slots of the marathon and by the way the mouthpiece deputy Bezuhla attacked the PBCU, calling it a state-owned channel. I believe that deputies should not undermine the foundations of independent and high quality media. I remind you that the development of the Public Broadcaster is one of the conditions for our movement towards the European Union," she wrote, adding that this reform is one of Ukraine's greatest achievements on the way to the EU.
Oksana Romaniuk noted that Suspilne has always done well in the IMI monitorings due to its remarkably high standards and has always been on the Transparent and Sustainable Media List, known as the White List of High Quality Media.
"Removing Suspilne from primetime means putting it at a disadvantage compared to commercial and state-owned channels, which undermines the principles of parity and balance in the information space. Is this fair treatment of an institution that is a symbol of our movement towards the EU, upholds democratic standards and is committed to serving the public? Do we have the right to limit access to independent information at such a critical time? I think the answer is obvious," she said.
The IMI director calls on "everyone who values freedom of expression and objectivity to support Suspilne Broadcasting in its right to remain visible and accessible."
She also called on the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security and the Center for Countering Disinformation to work with deputies to explain to them how Suspilne works so that they cease spreading misinformation about the PBCU online.
"I am ready to personally participate in media literacy lectures and educating deputies on this topic," Oksana Romaniuk said.
Previously
It was reported on April 24 that the US State Department included the national telethon "United News" in its report on human rights violations in Ukraine in 2023. The report noted that the telethon provided the government with an "unprecedented level of control over primetime television news."
On April 25, Svitlana Ostapa, the head of the Suspilne Supervisory Board, reported that the government plans to remove Suspilne from the evening slots of the telethon. The Suspilne Supervisory Board came out with a counter-proposal regarding the telethon slot reassignment: to give all primetime slots to Suspilne.
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