Parents of Zhytomyr schoolchidren report journalists to the police for filming a bomb shelter

The crew of the online media outlet Zhytomyr.info came into conflict with the parents of a lyceum's students in Teterivka community (Zhytomyr oblast) while trying to film the state of a bomb shelter used by children in a local kindergarten. The parents, concerned about the safety of their children, objected to the shelter being filmed and later called the police.

Zhytomyr.info multimedia editor Valeria Volodina reported this to Oksana Trokoz, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zhytomyr oblast.

What happened

The conflict occurred on January 29 while the Zhytomyr.info journalists were filming a news story in the Teterivka community. Reporter Veronika Yuzepchuk and cameraman Dmytro Pavlovsky were working on site.

At the locals' request, they were filming a news story about the local kindergarten lacking a bomb shelter. Since providing the preschoolers with a safe space during air raids was impossible, the children were temporarily relocated to a lyceum, which arranged separate classrooms and a shelter for them.

The journalists recorded interviews with a child’s mother and with the director of the Teterivka kindergarten and managed to get footage of the lyceum classrooms assigned for preschoolers, but the parents of the students prevented them from filming the bomb shelter where preschoolers take cover during air raids. The parents said they were concerned for the safety of their children and believed that journalists had no right to film the shelter.

“Having analyzed the situation, we concluded that the parents really were concerned about the safety of their children, yet we believe that the parents were warned about the coming of journalists. We talked to a representative of the local education department in advance, she knew about our work, was present at the meeting, but did not try to persuade the parents that the filming was above board,” said Zhytomyr.info multimedia editor Valeria Volodina and emphasized that the journalists did not film children at any of the locations.

Calling the police

Valeria Volodina says that the discussion between the parents and the journalists lasted about an hour, followed by one of the mothers deciding to call the police. This moment is featured in the news story released by the journalists.

“You will not be going into the bomb shelter. If the police arrive and give you permission, if they say that we, the parents, can not forbid you to film the location where our kids study, then please go and film. Until the police arrive, you wait,” the woman said.

The police officers who arrived on site confirmed that the journalists had the right to film, but said that they would have to settle the matter with the parents themselves.

“In this case, you are doing reporting work and you have the right to film. Please come to an agreement between yourselves as to what will be the right thing to do in this situation, so that it is good for everyone, both the parents and you, of course,” said Dmytro Zhytnik, a patrol police lieutenant at the local police station No. 1, in a comment to journalists.

The journalists continued filming but were unable to get into the bomb shelter assigned for preschoolers.

“Our crew wanted to get into the bomb shelter used by the preschoolers to show the state of it. That shelter was closed. However, the one used by the lyceum students was open and the journalists were able to enter it. When we asked to open the other shelter, the administration responded that they wanted to comply with the demands of the parents, who were worried about their children's safety. Obviously, safety is everyone’s top concern nowadays. But why was one shelter available for inspection, and the other, which was the subject of our filming, was not? Why were we able to see the state of one and not of the other? This question remains unanswered,” said Valeria Volodina.

She added that the journalists did not file a statement on obstruction of reporting but would like to understand the legal aspects of this issue.

A lawyer's comment

Volodymyr Zelenchuk, a lawyer at the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), noted that objects that are part of the protective structures fund are strategically important and information about their state is of public interest.

He noted that if journalists do not violate the rights of children, e.g. not film them without the permission of their parents, then their actions are lawful. Parents can only prohibit journalists from filming their children, but not objects or premises that belong to the school or are managed by it.

“Permission to film in an education facility is granted by the facility’s administration, not the parents. The school administration is responsible for the safety of children within the school's premises, and therefore has the right to deny access to third parties who are not involved in the education process. Moreover, protective structures fund buildings belonging to educational institutions are only available to to participants in the education process while this process is taking place in person.

"Certain restrictions on access to educational institutions and filming of mass gatherings of people can also be imposed by local military administrations. These regulations or restrictions compete with a journalist's right to film in schools and school shelters, therefore the police are more likely to refuse to open a case over obstruction of reporting. In a controversial situation such as this, the police officer was right in saying the parties needed to reach an agreement that would suit everyone,” Volodymyr Zelenchuk explained.

The lawyer reminded that journalists who plan to film in educational facilities should avoid filming children without the permission of their parents or legal caretakers. The best practice is to inform the administration of the educational facility in advance and agree on the format of the filming.

“Both school administrations and parents need to remember the benefits and importance of reporting on school shelters, since they are the party primarily interested in new bomb shelters being built and existing ones being improved. Unfortunately, the active improvement of the shelter network often only begins after the media pick it up,” Volodymyr Zelenchuk noted.