Ukrainian version

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

Generally in February 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 February general number of such material stayed on the level of January. Channels' positions were also the same. It is worth noticing only the considerable reduction of materials with the signs of censorship on Inter, 1+1 and Ukrayina channels.

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

Situation has hardly changed here. General number of such materials reduced a little. Channels of the Viktor Pinchuk group from time to time broadcasted materials about the charity activity of their owner, 1+1 advertised Bukovel resort and Pryvatbank (also the businesses of its owner). This month there were no ordered materials about outside businesses in the channels' newcasts.

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 February the number of negative materials about the opposition was considerably less, still, the number of positive materials about the government stays approximately the same. Perhaps, it happened because of generally less newsbreaks concerning criminal persecutions of the opposition politicians (these subjects had made most of negative mentioning the opposition the previous month). One more possible reason could be the increase in the newsbreaks concerning negative consequences of the government's activity, first and foremost - constant deterioration of socially economical situation in the country. They demand constant "washing off" of the government's activity. It is no mere chance that every month we can see more and more materials in which, with the help of biased choice of facts and opinions, channels try to round off rough corners or "explain" why the government is not guilty of the latest round of price rises or product shortage etc.

The general number of such materials about Yanukovych, Azarov, Klyuev, Tyhypko, Boiko? Popov and other key persons of the government stays the same. Channel 1, Inter and ICTV rarely have newcasts without such materials, to a lesser extent in concerns 1+1, Channel 5 and Ukrayina.

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 trend was the same, as well as tendency to have more and more facts and opinions separation standard violations, that appeared back in January 2010.  The number of materials with personal conclusions and opinions of the journalists kept growing on most channels. The rest of violation were steady.

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 came back to the December 2010 level. All the tendencies stayed the same. STB concealed comparatively more important socio-political issues (in comparison with other channels rates), but it's rather too early to call it a new tendency.

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:

In February there were slightly more protest actions, in comparison with January, so there were more concealments. General tendencies were still the same.

Among the events disregarded by all the channels in their main newcasts were the following:

The communists picketed regional council session, demanding not to raise utility charges (February 1)

The workers of Trudivska mine picketed the building of the Ministry of energy and coal mining in Donetsk because of possibility of the mine shutdown (February 4)

Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine threatened it would make protest actions all over the country if Cabinet of Ministers did not call off the draft law on pension reform (February 18)

In Lviv public rally of Batkivshchyna party took place, with demands to dismiss Yanukovych and Azarov (February 22)

In Zaporizhzhya on Lenin avenue participants of Svoboda movement protested against political repressions (February 28)

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

In February there were not many events, concerning this subject. It's worth mentioning the following events that the audience of any of the channels under examination did not learn of:

The editor in chief of one of the newspapers in Vinnytsya was admitted to the hospital with traumatic brain injury (February 3)

Myroslava Gongadze's lawyer lodged a protest against refusal to admit the murder of Georgy Gongadze being a contract one (February 7)

In Odesa political analyst Pesetskyi, who was actively criticizing Kostusyev, was beaten up (Febryary 10)

The editor from Dniprodzerzhynsk claimed that he had been attacked by the Dnipropetrivsk regional state administration when we had been distributing his paper (February 11)

Severinsen beleived that freedom of speech in Ukraine turned out to be at stake again (February 22)

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.):

In February there were more such events, so number of concealments also increased. Channel 1 was unquestioned anti-leader again. 1+1 concealed such information the least, as it had been the previous months.

It's worth mentioning the following events that the audience of all 8 channels under examination did not learn of:

Since February 1 water supply and water disposal rates for people in Ivano-Frankivsk are 5-8% higher (February 2)

In Kremenchuk price of bread is 10-12% up (February 4)

Petrochemicals retail price in Ukraine got 13 kopecks per litre more within one week (February 8)

In Ivano-Frankivsk heating supply rate got 10-18.8% higher from February (February 9)

The Cabinet of Ministers offered to reduce the period of noticing the customers about the changes in utility rates to 10 days (February 10)

Poltava lacks more than 20 million hryvnyas for public sector employees salaries (February 11)

Suburban electric trains fare will be 15-40$ higher on Prydniprovska railway (February 16)

Verkhovna Rada was not able to cancel the President's veto on prohibition of sanitary institutions reorientation and takeover (February 17)

Mentally disabled people have no medicines in Zaporizhzhya (February 20)

In January actual wages in Ukraine was 13.2% less than in December - State Statistics Committee

Arrears of salaries in January 2011 got 10.4% more - State Statistics Committee (February 25)

In Dnipropetrivsk fixed route taxi-bus fare will be 2.5 hryvnyas (February 25)

In 2011 Cabinet of Ministers will give 150 million hryvnyas for affordable housing project instead of 340 millions that were announced before (February 28)

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

Among the issues, disregarded by all the channels are:

Entrepreneurs suggest amendments to the Tax Code (February 4)

Entrepreneurs insist on legalizing the status of Entrepreneurs Council  under the jurisdiction of Verkhovna Rada (February 4)

Army caterer Ivala ltd company complained of the Ministry of Defense to the General Prosecutor's Office (February 10)

The Ministry of Economic Development suggests forbidding distance selling activity (Internet shops) to those entrepreneurs who have no office premise and storage space (February 14)

Problems with flour in Ukraine are caused by government regulation - president of Agricultural Confederation of Ukraine says (February 17)

Market members were alarmed with the attempts of the state to control Internet - it was discussed during the Internet Association of Ukraine 7^th congress (February 18)

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 number of concealments and positions of channels remain the same, but for STB that has a bit more concealments in this field. The following subjects were concealed by all the channels:

NU-NS criticized intention to create the Constitutional assembly without participation of Verkhovna Rada (February 1)

BYuT-Batkivshchyna offered Verkhovna Rada to appeal to the State Duma on account of oppression of Ukrainian organisations in the Russian Federation rights (February 2)

NU-NS again asked Yanukovych to dismiss Tabachnyk (February 2)

The government was afraid of my coming back from Brussels, not my staying there - Tymoshenko said (February 2)

The deputies of BYuT-Batkivshchyna parliamentary group were blackmailed with criminal cases against their relatives in order to make them vote for amendments to the Constitution - Tymoshenko said (February 2)

Voting on amendments to the Fundamental Law marked the beginning of constitutional revolution - BYuT-Batkivshchyna group declares (February 3)

Deputy Aryev asked General Prosecutor's Office to investigate who had used his card in voting for amendments to the Constitution - BYuT said (February 3)

While talking to Tymoshenko, the president of European Parliament noticed that "justice is used very selectively" in Ukraine - BYuT said (February 3)

Danylyshyn will be ready to run for the deputy in 2012 and to comeback to Ukraine, if he has the right for fair trial and investigation (February 4)

Tymoshenko called terror the criminal cases against the relatives of the Supreme Court Head Onopenko (February 4)

In Zaporizhzhya Svoboda organisation picketed regional state administration with Ukrainian songs and demands to cancel the status of the Russian language as a regional one (February 9)

Tomenko offered Chernovetskyi to became conscientious mayor of to "formalize disability" and resign (February 10)

Nasha Ukrayina demanded that Yanukovych and Azarov stop violation of rights of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Patriarchate of Kyiv parish (February 14)

Deputy Aryev intended to cancel the results of voting for amendments to the Constitution with the copy of his card through court action (February 14)

BYuT-Batkivshchyna wanted to prolong the moratorium on the sale of land - Tomenko said (February 14)

Korniychuk's release proved that decisions on the arrests were made by Yanukovych himself - Tymoshenko said (February 16)

The government is losing control over economy and social sphere so it tries to neutralize its opponents - Turchynov says (February 17)

Ukrainian opposition criticized the refusal of official Kyiv to support the declaration of the European countries concerning Belarus (February 17)

Yanukovych can be silent much better than he talks - Tymoshenko says (February 18)

Tymoshenko considers that the government does not take revenge, it tries to neutralize Lutsenko (February 18)

The members of Nasha Ukrayina suggest putting moratorium on Ukrainian schools shutdown (February 18)

Katerynchuk and Hrytsenko talk about uniting their parties (February 18)

Tymoshenko intends to lodge a protest against transfer of 3.5 billion hryvnyas form Oshchadbank to one of the private banks of Firtash (February 20)

Tymoshenko considers that social networks can consolidate those who do not agree with the policy of the government (February 21)

Yatsenyuk insists on creating the National Constitutional Assembly with participation of perties and parliamentary groups (February 21)

Tymoshenko claimed that the government terrorized the relatives of the opposition members (February 21)

BYuT-Batkivshchyna group offered Verkhovna Rada to recommend the government to cancel setting quotas on grain exporting (February 24)

The opposition is bitterly disappointed with the first year of Yanukovych presidency (February 24)

Economical policy of current government is lame - the opposition claimed (February 24)

Front Zmin insisted on the denunciation of "Kharkiv treaties" and on the reconsideration of gas contracts with the Russian Federation (February 24)

Tymoshenko warned IMF about the intention of Ukrainian government to pay to RosUkrEnergo with the money of the Fund (February 25)

Nasha Ukrayina criticized the first year of Yanukovych presidency (February 25)

Azarov's government brought to Ukraine European prices and African salaries - Pavlovskyi from BYuT said (February 28)

BYuT demanded to prolong moratorium on sale of agricultural land till 2015 (February 28)

During latest few months in summary newscasts on the channels there are more and more concealments of events of two more subject fields - problems in humanitarian area and issues concerning the activity of law enforcement bodies against non-criminal people i.e. persecution of those whose crimes are not proved by any court. In particular it concerns: arrested ex-officials of the government whose guilt is neither proved nor obvious for the society; entrepreneurs who started up Tax Maydan tent camp, whose guilt, even being proved, does nor require preliminary detention; Tryzub association members, charges against which are unexplained to the society yet etc. It is possible that larger number of concealments in these fields is caused by growing number of corresponding newsbreaks that are uncomfortable for the government. So, we add two more issues to the monitoring:

TABLE 11. Number of concealments of information concerning disputed situations provoked by the government in humanitarian area (reducing governmental support of the Ukrainian language, shutdowns of schools with the Ukrainian language of education, distortion and disregard of the national liberation movement history by officials or government institutions, oppression or disregard of non-pro-Russian religious churches by the government etc.):

Here the first position is taken by Channel 1, though most other channels are not far behind. Journalists on STB and Channel 5 monitor these issues more often. However, one month data can not be called a trend. Among the issues ignored by newcasts of all eight leading channels were the following:

According to the Concept of literary education, Ukrainian literature can be integrated into the course in world literature by Tabachnyk - people's deputy Orobets' says (February 1)

In Odesa region unknown people tore the monument to the Holodomor victims off the pedestal (February 2)

Prosecutor's Office verifies the validity of Lviv regional council decisions on Bandera and the status of the Ukrainian language (February 3)

Svoboda association members are against creation of "Russian world cabinets" by Russian consular agency in Kharkiv region as it is forcing alien information products upon people (February 8)

Ukrainian Religion Freedom Association is disturbed with lowering the level of religion freedom (February 8)

National Television Company of Ukraine reduced the percent of broadcasting in the Ukrainian language (February 10)

The dialog between the church and the state in Ukraine should be renewed - Lyubomyr Huzar says (February 10)

TABLE 12. Number of concealments of information concerning conflicts, provoked by law enforcement bodies activity against non-criminal people:

In this field Channel 5 has considerably less concealments. Ukrayina took second place. Other channels had approximately the same number of concealments of such issues. Following subjects were concealed by all the channels in February:

Korniychuk's defence lodged a protest to the European court against illegal detention and arrest of the client (February 1)

Consideration of the case of the student who is  charged with damaging the monument to Stalin is deliberately delayed - lawyer says (February 4)

Public prosecution office sought through the office of Magisters law firm (February 4)

The court prolonged the arrest of Didenko till March 10 (February 8)

The court prolonged the arrest of Makarenko till March 10 (February 8)

Onopenko is sure that criminal cases against his family are governmental pressure in order to make him resign (February 9)

The heads of three regional councils would like to bail out the accused of damaging the monument to Stalin (February 10)

In Zaporizhzhya the headquarters of political prisoners support group send additional food to the pre-trial detention center because, according to their information, the prisoners are undernourished (February 11)

Svoboda organization members of Kharkiv were interrogated on account of explosions in Makiyivka - party press office said (February 11)

Within three days Lutsenko's defense will lodge an appeal for the court decision to continue the ex-minister's arrest (February 17)

The heads of Svoboda movement in Zakarpattya were taken under arrest (February 20)

Lutsenko hopes for legitimate decision of the Court of Appeal and asks his admirers to refrain from rallies (February 22)

Other significant subjects, concealed by all the channels in February:

The shortfall of State Budget 2010 was 19% more than it had been envisaged - Ministry of Finance of Ukraine (February 1)

The interdiction for Tymoshenko to leave Ukraine turned to be inefficient and proved the influence of the government on the legal framework - Marek Siwiec, the European Parliament deputy said (February 1)

Setting quotas on grain exporting deteriorated the business climate in Ukraine - the ambassador of Great Britain said (February 1)

The students of regional military school in Kremenchuk intend to go on hunger strike against the pressure upon the headmaster of the school (February 2)

The mayor of Dnipropetrivsk, as well as his deputies and the city council secretary got 50% salary increments for "high achievements in the work"(February 2)

In January inflation in Ukraine accelerated to 1% - Ukraine Statistics Committee informed (February 7)

In January producer-price growth in Ukraine accelerated to 1.3% - State Statistics Committee informed (February 7)

US Chamber of Commerce counts on clear and free grain exporting from Ukraine (February 7)

The Council  of Europe recommends Ukraine to correct the draft law on local referendums (February 7)

The efficiency of fire brigades in Ukraine was put under threat - Accounting Chamber informed (February 11)

MFA "wonders that deputies Nemyrya and Tarasyuk give comments on the statements of the representatives of  EU about the actions of Ukrainian government" (February 12)

Ukrainian World Congress asked the European Parliament to monitor the democracy level in Ukraine (February 12)

The current account deficits of foreign trade balance of Ukraine grew 2.4 times in 2010 (February 15)

The monument to Stalin in Zaporizhzhya was erected illegally - mayor said (February 16)

Ukraine needs to take measures in order to improve business climate - IMF permanent representative said (February 16)

Son of General Prosecutor Pshonka became the deputy head of the Organized Crime Control Committee of the parliament (February 17)

Verkhovna Rada refused to put statutory bar on making photos of voting papers (February 17)

IMF predicts the national debt of Ukraine to grow up to 42.4% of GDP in 2011 (February 18)

EU can not influence the countries that violate the standards of democracy - chief representative of German Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung foundation Lange said (February 18)

In January the rate of unemployment in Ukraine was 2.1% - State Statistics Committee informed (February 19)

The head of the Ministry of Defense himself inspired the scandal with supplying food to soldiers - Dzerkalo Tyzhnya wrote (February 19)

The Union of Ukrainians in Russia denied Hryshchenko's claims and asked to protect their rights (February 20)

Ex-minister Danylyshyn considers that he could be put a hit out on by "tender mafia" (February 20)

In Sevastopil Lazarevs'ke Admiraltejstvo Russian-Ukrainian company has the largest arrears of wages (February 20)

People's deputies appealed to the Constitutional Court about the administrative reform, State Budget 2011 and Verkhovna Rada parliamentary rules (February 22)

Construction department of Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopil was declared bankrupt - the head of municipal administration said (February 22)

Ukrzaliznytsya got only 2% of remuneration for beneficiaries transportation in January (February 22)

The gang of policemen was detected in Crimea (February 22)

Lviv regional council gave "poor" mark to the first year of Yanukovych presidency (February 22)

The Regions Party rating went down to 16.8% - KIIS researched (February 23)

In Crimea four policemen planted the drugs on a person and asked of bribe for notbringing to responsibility (February 23)

The police of Odesa did not consider swastika on the monument to Pushkin to be crime, as the monument is "only an object of city municipal improvement" (February 23)

More than a half of Ukrainians gave negative evaluation to the first year of Yanukovych presidency - Gorshenin Institute informed (February 24)

A communist Kryuchkov believes that Yanukovych needs the Constitutional Assembly only ostentatiously (February 24)

Leonid Hrach formed and chaired the Communist Party of Workers and Farmers (February 28)

Yanukovych did not manipulate law enforcement bodies concerning the cases of Onopenko's relatives - the Head of SCU said himself (February 28)

The contest for the best concept of Desyatynna church reconstruction was launched - press service of Kyiv City State Administration informed (February 28)

Public institutions in Odesa are made to fly the Banner of Victory on holidays (February 28)

The Customs Union threatens Ukrainian and European economies - Business Council Ukraine-EU states (February 28)