National Association of Journalists of Ukraine claims that authorities impede transition of state printed mass media to communal ownership

Governmental agencies impede the transition of government-owned press into communal ownership, due to the issues of transfer of property that this entails. This was the message voiced by the secretary of the National Association of Journalists Tetiana Kotiuzhynska at her press conference “Transition or destruction of press?”, Ukrinform reports.

“On the way to the transition from being state-owned to communal, the press faces resistance of governmental agencies, which do not wish to admit that newspapers can exist independently from the government. The necessity of reform is dictated by the reality of our life. Some editorial offices have a history of 70 or 80 years, and it is not even clear, whom they are subordinated to. Because of this very fact, we have a legal mess with them. After the transition, the editorial office staff will establish, who has what rights in their organizational structure”, Kotiuzhynska said.

According to her, the goal of the transition is simple – to make press independent from governmental agencies; in the process of the reform, the property rights are not transferred to the staff, the latter simply receives the property that they need to perform their official duties.