IMI's Mediabaza Poltava to develop cooperation regulations for journalists and the City Council's press office

Journalists meeting the Poltava City Council press service at the Mediabaza Poltava, April 2, 2024. Photo by Mediabaza Poltava

The IMI journalist hub Mediabaza Poltava will develop regulations for journalists' cooperation with the Poltava City Council press office.

The idea emerged following an informal meeting between Poltava journalists and the head of the City Council press office, Maryna Serova, which was organized and hosted by Mediabaza Poltava on April 2.

The document will facilitate efficient communication, said Nadia Kucher, the head of Mediabaza Poltava and the IMI representative in the Poltava oblast.

"An internal document of this kind is designed to regulate and improve communication between the city authorities and the media," says Nadia Kucher.

The regulations will be an unofficial internal document which will require no further approval by a local self-government body. The document will be non-binding and will aim to regulate the interaction between the City Council's press office and the media, to create efficient rules and agreements between the parties that would help avoid misunderstandings and make cooperation transparent and clear.

Journalists meeting the Poltava City Council press service at the Mediabaza Poltava, April 2, 2024. Photo by Mediabaza Poltava

The participants of the meeting also discussed the results of the communication that occurred in the few months after the appointment of a new Poltava City Council press office head.

The journalists received answers to urgent questions regarding the city authorities' work. In particular, they discussed journalists' complaints about incomplete replies to information requests and issues with receiving comments. Possible causes of communication gaps and ways to resolve them were also discussed. The cooperation regulations for journalists and the City Council press office, which will be created and distributed among Poltava journalists for internal use, aim to resolve the issue of low-quality communication, which media workers sometimes complain about.

The meeting featured journalists from the media outlets "Poltavska Khvylia", Kolo.News, "My – Poltava", "Visti Plus", "Poltavshchyna", "Poltavskyi Visnyk", "0532.ua".

The journalists shared their feedback about the meeting

The Kolo.News journalist Maryna Levchuk noted that the press office was working harmoniously and replied to their questions promptly.

Journalists meeting the Poltava City Council press service at the Mediabaza Poltava, April 2, 2024. Photo by Mediabaza Poltava

"The meeting with Maryna Huramivna was helpful in that she clarified the mechanism for processing journalistic requests, both oral and written. Together we figured out how to act if getting a reply to a request or a comment is impossible. The head of the press office promised to personally monitor all inquiries and respond if there is no reply or if it's a 'non-answer'. In general, the City Council press office is working harmoniously and is constantly in touch, answers our questions promptly," said Maryna Levchuk.

"Poltavshchyna" journalist Mykola Lysohor also said the meeting was helpful: "The meeting between journalists and the head of the Poltava City Council press office helped us understand the communication issues in the City Council. As for me, I concluded that the reason journalists were receiving no answers to their requests was not that the press office team was incompetent, but that representatives of the authorities were ignoring the requests about problematic issues."

"Visti Plus" chief editor Yulia Shablya also found the meeting helpful for both the media workers and the City Council's liaison officer.

"At the informal discussion, the participants exchanged their opinions on improving future cooperation, namely in terms of submitting information requests, streamlining feedback from the Poltava departments and officials. By the way, the journalists exchanged contacts at the meeting, discussed working in times of an information war. I thank the organizers for the invitation," she said.

The head of the Poltava City Council press office, Maryna Serova, assured the journalists that she would always keep in touch with them.

"We discussed the issues that arise in our work with the media. After all, talking to journalists is important. Thank you for organizing today's meeting at the Mediabaza. Thanks to the journalists who spared an hour of their time and came to talk despite the frantic pace of their work. I am glad that I had the opportunity to get to know some journalists and talk to them in real life. Always in touch," said Maryna Serova.