Ukrainian version

1. MATERIALS WITH SIGNS OF BEING ORDERED (OR WITH CENSORSHIP)

Generally in December in daily summary newcasts of examined channels was such amount of socio-political materials with the signs of censorship or signs of being ordered:

Table 1. Number of socio-political materials with the signs of censorship or signs of being ordered:

In comparison with November, the number of such materials in December in general did not change. We can see considerable increase on Channel 1. Also we can see considerable decrease of number of such materials on STB, which has now the same index, as in July-October.

TABLE 2. Number of business materials with the signs of being ordered:

In December all channels gave more allegedly ordered non-political materials. Some other advertising materials were added to the traditional ones about businesses or charity foundations of channels owners, their relatives or satellites. It is noticed that owners' businesses are advertised more actively by 1+1. Channel 5 started to advertise shares of Petro Poroshenko's foundation, though it had not happened before. Besides, Channel 1 started to advertise charity foundations of Viktor Pinchuk and Rinat Akhmetov - and t also had not happened before.

Table 3.1. Number of materials with the signs of censorship or signs of being ordered within main lines - positive or neutral, without opinion balance, materials about the GOVERNMENT:

Table 3.2. Number of materials with the signs of censorship or signs of being ordered within main lines - negative, without opinion balance, materials about the OPPOSITION:

NOTE: general number of materials may not coincide with the general numbers (table 1) as some materials have both lines present.

In general, tendency to present the government in a favourable light remains unchanged. Number of negative materials about opposition increased due to more active criminal pursuit of Yulia Tymoshenko and officials of her Cabinet of Ministers. All these subjects are given incompletely and without balance, as before, though channels occasionally try to keep the formal balance, giving the floor to the people under investigation. However, they choose their emotional or at least politically coloured statements and opinions, leaving "offscreen" all the arguments connected with the case. So all these materials support government's position that all these numerous cases "have no political background, only specific crimes of officials and corruption".

The following standards are violated by the channels in their materials with the signs of censorship or signs of being ordered:

TABLE 4.1. Violation of OPINIONS BALANCE standard:

TABLE 4.2. Violation of information COMPLETENESS standard:

TABLE 4.3. Violation of FACTS AND OPINIONS SEPARATION standard:

TABLE 4.4 Violation of information RELIABILITY standard:

TABLE 4.5. Violation of information ACCURACY standard:

The main trends remain the same. The increase of violation of facts and opinions separation standard was considerable, as in December most of the channels gave the materials with journalists' own conclusions and evaluations of the situation.

2. CONCEALMENT OF SOCIALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION BY THE CHANNELS

In realization of political orders concealment of certain subjects or their components (as positions and argumentation of parties, expert evaluations, exact facts and backgrounds), that being disclosed, would be unfavourable for the government, still play very important role.

TABLE 5. General number of concealments of important subjects, opinions, facts or backgrounds:

General number of concealed subjects grew again, though it did not get to the point of September.

TABLE 6. Number of concealments of information about protest actions of different political forces and separate social groups, about court orders against those actions and about law enforcement bodies activity on blocking of these actions and their participants arrest:

The number of protest action in December was less than in November, mostly due to the conclusion of Tax Code problem that happened at the beginning of month

TABLE 7. Number of concealments concerning government's attacks on the freedom of speech:

Here the trends stay the same. It is worth noticing that audience of these channels did not know anything about the following events:

The investigation of Gongadze's murder turned to the protection of those who ordered it - journalist Podolskyi adresses the Prosecutor General (December 8).

Members of BYuT worry about the freedom of speech and demand National Radio and Television Broadcasting Council to give a report on this subject (December 13).

The head of TVi channel asked General Prosecutor's Office to investigate the fact that he was surveilled by Security Service of Ukraine (December 13).

Tomenko asks the head of Ministry of Internal Affairs to provide internal investigation of the journalist Nayem's incident (December 14).

Officer of Berkut special police service was seriously reprimanded for having detained the journalist Nayem (December 17).

National Broadcasters Organization asks the President to veto the law that complicates the conditions of licensing of television broadcasters and providers (December 24).

TABLE 8. Number of concealments of information about decrease of different components of welfare of population or its separate groups (increase in price of basic food and household products, tax, duties and payments increase, utility rates increase, basic services price increase, retirement age rising, state-financed organizations shutdown and their workers dismissal etc.):

The number of concealments in this field grew considerably. Among the issues that were not mentioned by any channel, were the following:

The draft budget 2011 envisages the same sum for medical services for one member of the Cabinet of Ministers as for more than 4 thousands Ukrainians (December 14).

Arrears of wages of Donetsk region coal industry workers exceeded 1 billion hryvnyas (December 20).

In November registered unemployment in Ukraine reached 1.6% - State Statistics Committee (December 20).

In November consumer attitude in Ukraine deteriorated - information of International Advanced Research Centre in association with GfK (December 21).

The government has to make pension reform the subject of nationalwide discussion - the claim of National Forum of Trade Unions of Ukraine (December 21).

Penalties for delayed payment for housing and public utility services, charged since the beginning of the new year are illegal - the claim of National Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine (December 22).

Adoption of the State budget of 2011 will make the number of public sector employees a quarter less - executive director of Association of Ukrainian Cities (December 22).

Public sector Trade Unions state that the draft budget 2011 is antisocial and ask for a meeting with the Speaker (December 22).

National Forum of Trade Unions of Ukraine call the pension reform "the governmental speculation" (December 23).

The Treasury blocked 13 million hryvnas on the accounts of Lviv City Council and it could not pay salary to the public sector employees (December 30).

TABLE 9. Number of concealments of information about governmental attacks on the businesses:

General number of such subjects in December was less than in November, as a lot of materials emerged from the Tax Code epic. The subjects that the audience of all eight channels did not learn about, included:

Selyanskyi Front in Mykolayiv region accuses the procurator's office in mass falsification of criminal cases against agrarians who have allegedly "annexed" project roads, i.e. the roads that do not exist in reality, but they are supposed to go through the farmers' land (December 1).

Government envisaged state price regulation for buckwheat in the first half year 2011 (December 6).

State organizations of agro-industrial complex give negative estimation of the draft budget 2011 (December 10).

National Bank of Ukraine closes the board of appeals that had been helping commercial banks to defend their interest in the controversies with the regulator (December 15).

The Parliament of Ukraine decreed that manufacturers were obliged to declare if they had sugar (December 21).

Association of Investment Business of Ukraine asks President to veto the amendments to the law on stock companies, according to which minority interest owners (less than 5%) are obliged to sell their stocks of shares to the bigger shareholders (December 24).

The Cabinet of Ministers published its decree on the allocation of quotas for the grain export in the first quarter of 2011 (December 28).

TABLE 10. Number of concealments of information concerning the opposition's public statements and activity (without regard for opinion balance violations in ordered materials):

Here we can see an considerable increase caused by numerous criminal troubles of former governmental officials (detentions, interrogations). As it was said, the claims of the opposition members concerning these actions were not even mentioned by big channels. Such concealed information includes:

Former head of State Property Fund Bondar criticizes selling 40% of Azot of Severodonetsk at the price 35% less than nominal value (December 2).

New Tax Code will make Ukrainians tighten their belts so much that they will not be able to breathe - Tymoshenko's claim (December 3).

BYuT members insist on new government's resignation because of new Tax Code faults (December 3).

The leader of Svoboda movement and his associates were called in for questioning about meetings against Tax Code - party's press office (December 6).

Tymoshenko considers that passing materials on international audit of her government to the General Prosecutor's Office is a reprisal (December 8).

Kyiv Court of Appeal acquited Yanukovych's denial the genocide nature of Holodomor - Svoboda (December 8).

Ukrainian opposition parties started talking about union - Katerynchuk (December 9).

Nasha Ukrayina claims that reshuffle in the ministries is just the cover of officials' irresponsibility (December 10).

PPU leader Kostenko offers to create the union of the right (December 11).

Proceedings against ex-minister Kuibida are closed for lack of elements of offence (December 13).

Tymoshenko claims that the government needed administrative reform to redistribute financing and to strengthen law enforcement bodies (December 13).

Lutsenko states that General Prosecutor's Office deliberately delayed the consideration of his plea of illegitimacy of his criminal case (December 14).

NU-NS faction registered the project of establishing the committee for investigation of minister Tabachnyk's activity aimed at the destruction of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (December 15).

Turchynov states that Batkivshchyna party will ask Europe and USA "not to give visas to the criminals" (December 17).

EPP made a statement that it disapproves government's political pressure on the opposition (December 17).

NU-NS deputies demand the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond Putin's anti-Ukrainian remark about Ukraine's contribution to the victory in the Great Patriotic War (December 17).

Tomenko offered the President to start improving political culture level from his people (December 18).

Lutsenko states that the government has unambiguous line - all the nonconformists must be imprisoned (December 18).

Pro-Tymoshenko rallies took place in Donetsk and Dnipropetrivsk (December 20).

Group of deputies of the opposition asks the Constitutional Court to admit Tax Code as completely unconstitutional (December 20).

Lutsenko states that he has no chance to learn the materials of his case, though he visit General Prosecutor's Office on a regular basis (December 21).

NU-NS demand Lytvyn to sign a suit on depriving deputies who work in the government and in the Parliament at the same time of their seats (December 22).

BYuT-Batkivshchyna faction states that in the banking community Arbuzov has a reputation for being specialist in shadow currency conversion, money laundering and tax holes (December 22).

BYuT stated that Yanukovych changed those governors who had not managed to "provide" the victory of Regions Party at the local elections (December 22).

Tymoshenko says that the actual government of Ukraine opened the way to the corruption by repealing all anti-corruption laws (December 22).

Batkivshchyna states that Venice Commission supports the BYuT-Batkivshchyna attitude towards the illegitimacy of the government (December 23).

BYuT has the intention to appeal against State Budget 2011 in the Constitutional Court (December 2011).

Lutsenko commented his detention, notably saying that he is charged with the opportunity to continue malfeasance, though he is not a minister anymore (December 27).

Nasha Ukrayina demands to free Lutsenko from detention and to review his case in a properly legal way (December 27).

Batkivshchyna and Za Ukrayinu parties state that Lutsenko's detention is purely political matter (December 27).

Tymoshenko calls for the formation of national resistance to the current government (December 27).

Nasha Ukrayina demands Russian Federation to explain the fact of closing down the Ukrainian library in Moscow (December 27).

BYuT states that closing down the Ukrainian library in Moscow contradicts the declarations of the governments of Ukraine and Russia (December 27).

The leaders of opposition deny the Yanukovuch's words that he has meetings with them (December 27).

The search in Ukrainian Social Democratic Party lasted 6 hours - the party's press service informs (December 27).

Yatsenyuk says that protection of the foreign economic interests of the Regions Party replaced Ukraine's foreign policy (December 29).

BYuT states that the Parliament leaders hinder the calling of special session (December 30).

BYuT member asks General Prosecutor's Office to examine the legitimacy of buying VIP cars by Yanukovych's government in 2004 (December 30).

Tymoshenko claimed that materials of criminal case against her were falsified at the direction of Yanukovych (December 31).

Batkivshchyna accuses government of political reprisals and tortures of opposition (December 31).

Other significant subjects, concealed by all the channels:

Yanukovych wished Lukashenko to win the presidential elections (December 1).

Verkhovna Rada refused to form commission of inquiry in order to investigate the counterfeit of State Statistics Committee information on macroeconomic performance (December 1).

According to Razumkov Centre, Ukrainians suppose the democracy in Ukraine to be feebly middle-level (December 1).

Hennadiy Ivanushenko, the head of the archive of Sumy region and researcher of Holodomor and reprisals, was dismissed (December 2).

Other eight judges of the Supreme Court were dismissed by the Parliament (December 2).

The Parliament refused to support request to the President concerning deputies who work in the government and in the Parliament at the same time (December 3).

Canadian associations of Ukrainians suppose that historians and researchers of Ukraine are the subject of intimidation (December 6).

EU Commissioner Fulet reminds that achievement of political stability in Ukraine must not restrain democracy (December 6).

EU Commissioner Fulet advises Ukraine to be more ambitious in its reforms in order to integrate into EU (December 6).

According to Razumkov Centre, one third of Ukrainians want to have Parliamentary elections in 2011 (December 8).

The European Commission called Ukraine to reconsider its decision not to take part in Nobel Prize Award Ceremony (December 9).

The churches of the Patriarchate of Kyiv in Donetsk region suffer from raiding, as Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Kyiv (UOC PK) informs (December 9).

People from the public prosecution office of Donetsk regions were appointed to the positions of public prosecutors of Dnipropetrivsk and Luhansk regions (December 9).

Some political analysts note the impropriety of implementation of the administrative reform in Ukraine (first goes the decree, and afterwards the laws are changed) (December 10).

According to Razumkov Centre, Ukrainians get less and less satisfied with the activity of the present government (December 10).

According to State Statistics Committee, Ukraine's credit balance deficit of external trade in goods grew 1.6 times more within 10 months of 2010 (December 13).

The head of UOC PK asks Kyiv government to clarify why the priests of the Patriarchate of Kyiv are stood off the funeral ceremonies (December 13).

The status of Yanukovych's visit to Latvia changed because he refused to visit the Museum of Latvia occupation (December 15).

The World Bank notes a number of defaults in approved Tax Code (December 16).

In Kyiv massive traffic jams were the result of Yanukovych's movement through the city (December 17).

Lytvyn suggests delaying once more the enactment of anti-corruption laws, approved as far back as in 2009 (December 20).

Stavniychuk says that Venice Commission is shocked with the fight in the Parliament of Ukraine (December 20).

Prosecutor General's brother Mykola Pshonka was nominated to the position of the deputy head of Superior Specialized Civil and Criminal Court (December 20).

The Cabinet of Ministers gave 19.3 million hryvnas to the Derzhkomreserv state committee to pay the service of Trout Cacheris auditor (December 20).

Communists are against pension reform in Ukraine (December 21).

Businessman Firtash was nominated to the position of co-Chair of the National Trilateral Social and Economic Council by the President of Ukraine (December 21).

Nico Lange, the director of Kyiv office of KAS foundation states that Ukraine can lose the important position in the region because of its controversial foreign policy (December 23).

Within 11 months Ukrzaliznytsya got from the budget only 27.6% of remuneration for beneficiaries transportation (December 23).

Members of Parliament closed plenary sessions this year without considering the problem of the deputies who work in the government and in the Parliament at the same time (December 24).

Yanukovych doubts that Tymoshenko's case will be examined in court (December 25).

UOC PK claims that a church in Kyiv region was took by the people of the Patriarchate of Moscow (December 27).

According to the poll of Deminitsiatyvy foundation, experts are very pessimistic about the results of this year and the future prospects (December 27).

The head of the Supreme Court of Ukraine states that there should be the assumption of innocence in Ukraine (December 28).

The head of the Supreme Court of Ukraine does not plan to hand in resignation, despite the pressure on him and his relatives (December 28).

Communist party of Ukraine gets ready for protest actions against pension reform and Labour Code (December 28).

Ukraine's national debt in November got 1.2% more (December 28).

Kolesnikov recommended Kernes and Dobkin to pay for benches in Kharkiv subway themselves (December 28).