Campaign Rules

The experience of the previous election races suggests that in the upcoming election campaign the mass media will be in the focus of both candidates for president and, to a lesser extent, voters. By all accounts, equal access to the mass media will be among the election campaign catchwords and will come under increased scrutiny of Western observers. Perhaps such an approach is justified in the case of the government-controlled media. The Day approached the experts with the question:

Should independent media outlets be required to provide equal access to all participants of the election process?

Mykhailo WEISBERG, president of the Ukrainian Periodicals Publishers Association:

“Our association adheres to market economy principles. We insist on a nonpolitical approach to publishing. Speaking of private media outlets, imposing any regulations on them seems improper. By contrast, the newspapers that were open to all candidates during the previous parliamentary elections were trusted more and made more money, in particular on political advertising. After the elections, they not only preserved their readership, but even increased it. Meanwhile, those representing the interests of a certain political or financial group and showing a distorted picture in the course of the election campaign saw their readership and circulation dwindle. Notably, inflated circulation figures had fallen sharply after the elections. When journalists were discussing the results and lessons learned from the elections, most agreed that the best policy is being open to all — not because of an order from those on top, but because this reflects the readers’ interests. Perhaps one should clearly distinguish between the print and electronic media. Since the print media are more numerous (around 4,000 outlets), they jointly create a rather pluralistic picture. Electronic media are a different matter. Existing in significantly smaller numbers, they seek to monopolize the media market.”

Hryhory SHVERK, Vice President, Ukrainian Media Holding Ltd.:

“For any independent media outlet, publishing activity is a business. Therefore, to have equal access to any media outlet, candidates should have equal financial resources. If one can’t afford to pay for media services, this is his problem. Meanwhile, independent media outlets may not be required to provide services for free. The only exception could be made in the situation when, for example, the Central Electoral Committee decides to give equal time on air at one of the television channels to all candidates. In this case, however, the state should foot the bill. All other issues should be of strictly business nature. Discounts and prices are subject to the sides’ agreement.”