Police officers of Volyn complained to Committee on Journalists' Ethics and the National Council about violation of standards of journalism by TV channel "Avers"

Volynska oblast Patrol Police Department complained to the Committee on Journalists' Ethics and the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting about systemic violations of standards of journalism by the local TV channel “Avers”. the Department requests these institutions to respond within their competences. The letter with the complaint about the work of the channel was sent on February 13, 2018, IMI representative in Volynska oblast reports. The Department explains in the letter that TV "Avers” and some journalists of this company systematically violate standards of journalism when they cover the actions of the local patrol police. They complained about biased and sensationalist presentation of materials, showing the patrol police in a negative light and undermining its reputation as they report routine work of police officers. The letter referred to several cases of misrepresentation and referred to the standards of journalism being violated. In addition, the letter claims that the majority of problematic stories with biased headlines they quoted are authored by the journalist of "Avers" Natalia Polishchuk, who was once detained by patrol police and, as the letter claims, made a point of harming the police reputation. In November of 2016, N.Polishchuk was detained for jaywalking and refusal to cooperate with the police (https://www.volyn24.com/news/74741-lucka-zhurnalistka-poskandalyla-z-patrulnymy). The police emphasizes that they tried to communicate directly with the TV company, but the biased reports continue. Thus, they decided to refer to the journalist community and the National Council to address this situation.