Study Tour Teaches Ukrainian Reporters about Investigative Journalism

As the Iron Curtain crumbled in the early 1990s, Eastern European countries including Estonia, Latvia, and Ukraine were greeted with freedoms that they had never before experienced.

Estonia and Latvia have since joined the European Union and solidified their democractic gains. In Ukraine, however, former Soviet-run media outlets continue to impede upon the rights of the people, preventing a free press and transparent government relations.

The Latvian Transatlantic Organization (LATO), with a grant from the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation (BST) created the project “Ukrainian journalists’ visit to Latvia and Estonia” to enhance the skills and professionalism needed to conduct investigative journalism in Ukraine in order to foster a more democratic society.

 “Latvia and Estonia, just like Ukraine, are post-Soviet countries,” said Oleksandr Yankovskyy, a journalist for Black Sea TV in Ukraine.

“That is why it is so interesting and important to compare the differences,” he said. “For example, the scope of the political scandals and the temperature is much higher in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government can, practically, not listen to the opposition and change the rule of law.”

From November 25-December 1, 2012, 11 journalists from Estonia and Latvia shared their investigative reporting experiences with those from Ukraine. The visit also included meetings with Re:baltica, a non-profit organization concentrated on conducting investigative journalism on important social issues such as corruption,  crime, finances, entrepreneurship, health, and human rights in the Baltic region.

The Ukrainian journalists met with the Baltic Broadcasting Centre, whose staff shared their experiences and working methods to produce high-quality news content. The study visit also included a meeting with the Latvian Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB).

The week-long visit to the two Baltic countries introduced Ukrainian journalists to quality investigative journalism produced by public broadcasting and taught them about media accountability mechanisms in Latvia and Estonia. With these skills, Ukrainian journalists have the ability to strengthen cooperation and transparency between the government and society.

“The project served as a very effective way of transferring the experience and the knowhow in investigative journalism of Latvian and Estonian media experts to their Ukrainian counterparts,” said Dino Toderascu, BST program officer.

“Ukraine aspires to become an EU member in the future, and a credible, professional, and independent media is a must in order to achieve this goal,” he added.