You're reading: STB TV channel journalists claim imposing of censorship on STB

Vikna television program journalists broadcasted on the STB TV channel have claimed the introduction of censorship.

"Now we believe that we should claim a systemic attack on freedom of speech… We back 1+1 TV Channel colleagues and call on journalists of other editions to join fight against new censorship in Ukraine," reads a letter of STB journalists released by the Ukrayinska Pravda Web publication on May 7.

The journalists said that after presidential election, focus in commentaries linked to activities of Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk, Holodomor and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army have started shifting.

The letter says that a negotiations information concept of the Vikna television program foresees the coverage of political topic "in one line" and avoiding of voluminous materials, refusing traditional journalist investigations, avoiding irony and non-coverage of topics on property and expenses of politicians.

STB journalists said that they have seen facts of censorship since the election campaign.

They took cases registered at a meeting of the Mediafront trade union’s department held on December 6, 2009 as an example: in 2009 the channel’s leadership prohibited covering topics on reshuffling of officials in Puscha-Vodytsia and Koncha-Zaspa, broadcasting of criticizing materials on activities of Kyiv city administration and Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky.

In addition, in commentaries devoted to meetings of the Party of regions video frames that prove payment for participation in the meeting were cut. Frames with drunken meeting participants were not broadcasted.

The letter was signed by 13 correspondents and two Vikna news editors.

Earlier, 1+1 TV channel journalists said that they had been banned from "covering certain topics and events."

"Stories critical of the current government are not being broadcast for political reasons. A final decision on the broadcast of our products is taken by 1+1’s director general, rather than the editor of the issue or the TSN chief editor," they said.