In March of this year, the Commission on Journalistic Ethics received a complaint from the Jehovah’s Witnesses Center against the material “Jehovah’s Witnesses Sue UOC Priest from Bukovyna Area” published on the Espresso.West media outlet at https://zahid.espreso.tv/svidki-egovi-podali-do-sudu-na-svyashchenika-ptsu-z-bukovini.
Representatives of the religious community asked the Commission to help in a conflict with the media outlet which did not represent the position of Jehovah’s Witnesses and didn’t give them an opportunity to respond and present their position regarding the conflict with the UOC priest.
The Commission contacted media representatives and provided a space for a meeting and discussing ways to exercise the right to respond. After a personal meeting on August 9, 2024, in Lviv, Espresso.West supplemented the original material with the position of the religious community.
Representative of the PR Department of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Center in Ukraine Yurii Kirieiev thanked the Commission for its efforts in setting up contact with the media outlet and initiating the mediation process and Mykola Typusiak of the Espresso media outlet for a responsible position regarding self-regulation of the media and a professional approach to considering and resolving a contentious issue.
“As a result of our conversation, we agreed to publish the position of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the two stories in question. I want to thank you for your initiative to conduct mediation, which became an important factor in resolving this situation. I think that this situation once again emphasized the importance of self-regulation in the media and a professional approach to solving controversial issues. At Espresso, we value this approach and are always ready for a constructive dialogue,” said Mykola Typusiak, marketing director of Espresso.
The Commission on Journalistic Ethics welcomes the parties’ readiness for dialogue and is always ready to provide a platform for communication on other problematic issues.
The Commission’s mission is primarily to improve the quality of content in the media by preventing disputes or mediating them, rather than by punishing the media for violating the standards of journalistic ethics. The Commission on Journalistic Ethics will continue to promote the development of such alternative means of resolving disputes in the media community.