NEWS AND VIEWS

Odesa broadcasters arrive in Texas for a look at American news media

by Natalia Lysyj

AUSTIN, Texas - The International Hospitality Council in Dallas, under the auspices of Project Harmony Educational and Professional Exchanges and United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, has been hosting groups of interns from Russia and Ukraine. This internship program is funded by the U.S. Department of State.

The most recent group of 10 media people comprised four women and six men, radio/TV broadcasters and journalists from Odesa. They were placed with host families in Dallas for four weeks to gain the American life experience and to job-shadow with media people in the Dallas metroplex area. As part of their media exposure these interns were brought for a visit to Austin, the capital city of Texas, on January 31 through February 3.

Upon their arrival in Austin, visitors were received in the Office of the Secretary of State in the Capitol Building by Director of International Protocol Clarke Straughan.

During the reception Mr. Straughan explained the duties of the secretary of state and presented a commemorative certificate to each visitor with his or her name inscribed on it.

In return, the spokesman for the visiting Ukrainian group presented Mr. Straughan a book about Odesa, a videotape about the city, dubbed in English, and a letter for transmittal to the mayor of Odessa, Texas, from the mayor of Odesa, Ukraine, Ruslan Bodelan, with an invitation to enter into a sister-city relationship.

The press secretary for the governor, Kathy Walt, held a conference for the visitors in the governor's reception area at the State Capitol. Here the visitors had an opportunity to ask questions about freedom of press, methods of disseminating Gov. Rick Perry's programs and the role of journalists in reporting that information and opposing views. Ukrainian media people were especially interested in learning that the state and federal governments do not own radio and TV stations as they do in Ukraine. This opened a lively discussion as to how people in power can propagate their messages and deflect their opposition, as well as on the duties and responsibilities of the free press.

The Ukrainian visitors varied in age from 24 to 47, representing a wide range of journalistic and media levels of experience. Among these were: S.V. Komar, deputy director and chief editor, Odesa Oblast State TV and Radio Company; T.A. Dobrynina, director and editor, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Radio News "Piddestrovia": I.L. Lytovchenko, general director, Radio "World Harmony," music/cultural programming; V.P. Chenusha, head editor TV/Radio "Kiliya Contact"; S.P. Usatenko, news editor, TV and Radio "Art"; N.V. Nahorna, editor of TV/Radio "Art"; O.S. Suslov, TV journalist; and I.V. Kryshtafor, TV journalist of "Riak-lnform." Two younger women and one seasoned journalist spoke some English. Most men in the group spoke fluent Ukrainian. Among themselves visitors spoke in Russian.

The visitors were interested in learning about the workings of American television and radio, exploring such topics as freedom of speech, journalistic ethics, legal relations, authors' rights, professional team-building and settling of conflicts. They were interested also in enhancing their computer skills in the everyday work environment of broadcast stations, financial management of commercial and non-commercial programs, as well as the use of modern broadcasting technology, which is largely absent from local and regional TV and radio stations in Ukraine.

The following day's sessions included visits to three TV stations. During the morning session at Fox TV, Vice-President and General Manager Danny Baker offered a detailed presentation on the process of obtaining commercial sponsors, outlining how broadcast programs with commercials are put together. Visitors were interested in all financial operations of the station, from reporters' employment contracts and benefits to annual net profits of the station.

A visit to Austin Community Access Center, a community TV station open to the citizens of the community to produce their own television programs, followed after the lunch break. This TV station presented a different aspect of the media, where the public has access to recording equipment and can air privately recorded events of community and international interest. Under the leadership of Jon Wright, coordinator for producer relations, the Ukrainian broadcasters had a hands-on opportunity in handling cameras and other equipment.

The third tour of the day was held at the CNN affiliate, News 8 Austin, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week local news channel. The newest high-tech set-up of the station greatly impressed the visitors in its instantaneous news gathering capabilities and the incredible pace of programming around the clock, with individual producers responsible for separate one-hour segments. News Director Kevin Benz and his staff showed the visitors how each hour's program is formatted, with flexibility afforded each individual producer to choose feature news items for his hour of production. Ukrainian media people were astounded to learn about the pace and the average number of 40 news items covered each day, compared with Odesa operations, which average two news items each day.

Several members of the group raised a question about the specialization of reporters, which apparently is practiced in their own operations as a reporting task is subdivided and performed by separate people. They were surprised to learn that many TV field reporters work as a one-person production team from writing copy to recording, filming and editing prior to submitting the news item.

This writer was contacted by the director of the Dallas International Hospitality Council, Monica DeLorenzo, to act as interpreter for the Ukrainian visitors. In this capacity I had the opportunity to chat with the visitors and to get some feedback. After the group was briefed about the existence of Ukrainian communities in most major cities in the United States and Canada, copies of The Ukrainian Weekly were passed around to acquaint them with the content of the newspaper.

An initial query to the whole group about the upcoming elections in Ukraine and the candidates was met with some reluctance in responding. A spokeswoman for the group stated that they did not wish to discuss politics - only culture. However, individually, some male journalists were willing to discuss political issues.

According to the Ukrainian broadcasters, TV and radio stations in Odesa are not connected to any network in or outside the city and focus only on the local news. These stations on occasion receive news items from Kyiv, which they then include in their local broadcasts.

On the question of use of the Ukrainian language, journalists said that the Ukrainian government mandates that at least 50 percent of all TV and radio programs be broadcast in the Ukrainian language, but this mandate is neither observed nor enforced. According to Mr. Chenusha, head editor of "Kiliya" Radio/TV, all government documents are written in the Ukrainian language, which forces non-Ukrainian speaking journalists and others to study the official language.

In response to a question about the dangers of being a journalist in Ukraine, the visitors said that they personally have not received any threats, and that local authorities are watchful of threats against journalists. Mr. Chenusha mentioned that his local chief of police visits him periodically to check on whether he has been threatened in any way. The visitors felt that they did not need to arm themselves with guns with rubber bullets. A question about Yulia Tymoshenko, a prominent opposition leader apparently being persecuted by the authorities, was dismissed with a wave of the hand and a comment that "she's a thief."

On election procedures and oversight issues, the visitors claimed that elections are supervised properly in their areas. On the issue of Ukraine's possible union with Moscow versus remaining an independent state, they said that it was only Communist Party members who were pushing for the union and thus their return to power. Otherwise, people in their region are enjoying the improved state of the economy and free enterprise.

Issues of social relevance also seem to be receiving greater attention. According to Ms. Dobrynina, she has been instrumental in raising the issue of abused women and children by documenting abuses on film and by interviewing victims. Under her leadership a women's shelter for abused families, claimed to be the first of its kind, is opening in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. The issue of family abuse is scheduled for discussion shortly in the Ukrainian Parliament, and she is hoping for official government recognition and support of this rising social problem, due to rampant alcoholism and other social problems manifesting themselves in widespread abuse of women and children.

On a lighter note, the visitors were bemused with what they saw as the "American preoccupation" with the weather and environmental issues, brushing these aside with comments that people in the States like their "comfort." It was pointed out to them that the weather reports generally televised in four segments in a given hour by most TV stations, are of great concern to national and international air travel, mail deliveries, and land transportation and movement.

According to the visitors, there are approximately 28 radio and TV stations in the Odesa region, many of which are private, start-up operations. One of their goals is to make these profitable. A shortage of money for equipment and personnel is the most pressing problem in their operations.

Finally, it was interesting and encouraging to hear that people in the Odesa region are experimenting with setting up private news broadcasting operations and studying to improve existing ones, especially in making these profitable, and with a goal of eventually joining with other media networks, including CNN.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 10, 2002, No. 10, Vol. LXX

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