A survey of journalists was conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation from October 4 to 23, 2023, in cooperation with the Commission on Journalistic Ethics. A total of 256 respondents were interviewed.
48% of the respondents (123 respondents) are journalists from among the staff of the publication; 18% of the respondents (46 respondents) are independent journalists or cooperate with several media at once; about 9% of the respondents (22 respondents) work in media expert organizations; 7% of the respondents are teachers of journalism in Ukrainian higher education institutions. The rest of the respondents represent other professions in the media: media manager, communications specialist, media consultant/trainer, press secretary, media editor, producer, etc.
17% of the respondents (43 respondents) are residents of the Western macroregion (Volyn, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Chernivtsi oblasts); 63% of the respondents (162 respondents) are from the Central macroregion (Sumy, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, Poltava, Kyiv oblasts and Kyiv); 9% of the respondents (22 respondents) live in the South of Ukraine (Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson oblasts); 10% of the respondents (26 respondents) live in the East of Ukraine (Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia oblasts); 3 respondents (1%) are currently abroad. As far as the gender structure of the sample is concerned, 64% of respondents are women, 36% are men.
The survey was conducted through the self-completion of a questionnaire using Google Forms. The sample is not representative and allows analyzing trends in the opinions of the media community, but it does not allow extending the results obtained on the sample to the entire journalistic community with a certain level of statistical error.
1. Who should have the right to receive a single press card in Ukraine?
- The majority of respondents (about 69%) believe that if a single press card is introduced in Ukraine, it should be the creative media workers, in particular correspondents, camerapeople, news editors, producers, and TB hosts, who should have the right to receive it.
Almost a third of the respondents (28%) stated that other specialists involved in media production (SMM-specialists, employees of press services, copywriters, and advertising and PR specialists, etc.) should also have the right to receive a press card.
- Regarding which positions in the media structure should be eligible for a single press card, the absolute majority of respondents (97%) agree that a single press card should be issued to the editor-in-chief of the media.
The majority (about 60%) believe that media owners or their managers (CEOs, marketing or advertising directors, etc.) should not receive a single press card).
- Regarding the receipt of the press card by freelance media workers, most respondents allow some flexibility: a little more than a half (53%) consider it appropriate, provided that the journalist has at least a temporary contract with the editorial office to perform a certain work. Another 38% of the respondents do not see any obstacles in that independent workers and freelance journalists can get a single press card.
Only 8% of respondents believe that only those who work full-time in the media can apply for a single press card.
- The same applies to foreign citizens: the majority of citizens consider it possible to provide them with press cards if they work in Ukraine (37%) or have an agreement with the Ukrainian media (45%). Only about 9% of respondents do not allow this under any circumstances.
Some respondents separately emphasize that foreign citizens must undergo a check for compliance with journalistic standards and ethics in Ukraine as well as a check for relations with the aggressor state from the authorized security agencies of Ukraine in order to obtain a press card.
2. Procedure for submitting and issuing a press card
- According to the majority of respondents, candidates for a press card, in order to certify that they are really engaged in journalism, must confirm their connection with a particular media (by providing an appropriate confirmation letter from the editorial board or a document that would certify the candidate’s relationship with the media, for example, an employment contract).
Moreover, the interviewed journalists consider it appropriate for candidates for a press card to provide samples of their materials in the media. Almost half of the respondents also believe that candidates should provide a written commitment to comply with the rules for using the press card at the stage of applying for it.
- The vast majority of respondents (83%) also consider it necessary for applicants for a single press card to provide a written obligation to comply with the Code of Ethics of the Ukrainian journalist.
- The process of applying for a press card, according to most respondents, should be available online. At the same time, respondents note that when submitting the relevant application online, tools should be provided that will allow for an accurate verification of the applicant’s identity (for example, an electronic signature). Applying online also has advantages in terms of security risks.
At the same time, about a third of respondents do not reject other possible ways of submitting applications that can function in parallel with online submission — submission in person or by letter. According to some respondents, the submission to obtain a press card can take place, for example, by a letter from the editorial office, which at the same time will certify the journalist’s connection with a certain media.
- Respondents were divided on whether recipients of a single press card should pay an annual fee. Slightly more than a third of respondents (39%) believe that such a practice should exist, while about 36% do not consider it appropriate. Another quarter of respondents do not have a clear opinion on this matter.
- Regarding the form of the press card, the respondents did not have any contradictions. For the absolute majority, the most acceptable option is a card in both physical and electronic form.
3. Requirements for authorities that will issue press cards and administer the recipient database
- According to the majority of respondents, there should only be one provider of press cards, that is, the body that will issue them: 31% believe that a certain organization has to issue press cards, about 43% believe that it can be a coalition of civil society organizations (which, nevertheless, is guided by the same principles and adopts a single decision).
12% of the respondents expressed their opinion on the expediency of the functioning of several organizations in Ukraine, which will have the authority to issue press cards separately from each other.
- Regarding the requirements for organizations that will be authorized to issue press cards, respondents name three requirements as a priority: firstly, it should be an organization that unites employees of the journalistic profession; secondly, this organization should have a proper reputation, not only within the industry but also in society as a whole. Obviously, this organization should not have any ties with the aggressor state.
Another aspect that respondents noted somewhat less often but which, nevertheless, is crucial is the organizational capacity of such a body. This institution should have a proper staff that will allow it to effectively perform its functions: to administer the work of the press card system and conduct regular checks of candidates. It is also important that, for the effective work of such an institution throughout Ukraine, it must have the ability to ensure the work of its representative offices in each region.
- Regarding the administration of the single press card recipient base, the absolute majority of respondents (96%) agree that even if there are several bodies (or if it is a coalition of organizations) authorized to issue a press card, the recipient base should still be unified.
- Regarding the financing of the institution that will administer the base of the press card recipients, about 40% of respondents believe that the state should be involved in its financing but without interfering in the decision-making process. 42% believe that this body can function at the expense of the fee that will be paid for obtaining a press card.
About 6% chose another option, offering a combination in which funding would consist of both card fees and charitable or donor sources and public funds. Some respondents believe that the state should not participate in the financing of such an institution at all because then it will be difficult to ensure the independence of this institution because the state will at least informally try to influence the decisions of the body.
- According to slightly more than half of the respondents, the authorized representatives of the organization that issues press cards should have access to the database of the press card recipients (with access to viewing and editing records).
About a third of respondents also believe that it is advisable that the administration be carried out by a special staff that is not related to the organization issuing press cards (or to any of the organizations, if there are more than one).