Foreign experts consider Ukrainian television useful not only as a source of information for comparison.
In a talk with Ken Moskowitz questions were prepared on the general problems important for the mass media as a whole. The press attache of the American Embassy, who lists in his curriculum vitae not only a master's degree in philosophy but also work for various American publications and in the US press service in Hungary and Japan, was interviewed the day before his first anniversary of being in Kyiv.
Q.: Mr. Moskowitz, what do you choose to watch on Ukrainian television? What channels, what programs? Which hosts do you like?
A.: First of all I should say that before I come to Kyiv I had been trained only in Ukrainian (not in Russian), so it's natural that I watch programs in the Ukrainian language. It's part of my job to watch as much as I can, given my other duties, and to formulate my own opinion.
First of all I pay attention to the news. So primarily what catches my eye are UTN, 1+1, ICTV, and "Vikna" on STB. I think that I enjoy the most the weekly on STB, “Oblychchia svitu” (Faces of the World) with Oleksandr Tkachenko, and TCN. I regularly watch the UT-1 evening news. I try to turn on the TV for “Seven Days” with Vadym Dolhanov on Sundays. As far as non-news programs are concerned, I see that there are many imports. I don't actually watch them. I realize that this is a consequence of the economic situation with few shows being produced locally.
Apart from news programs I watch documentaries, but I don't waste time watching Russian and American imported dramatic series. I know that Ukraine has a tradition of making and broadcasting serious movies and I look forward to the time when Ukraine can start showing its own films. And, for example, “Friend of the Deceased” which is a Ukrainian film that won popularity in the West, has somehow failed to be popularized here.
Q.: How do our programs report news from the US?
A.: I must say that reports on the US in the whole are rather balanced. However, there are two problems. Inasmuch as the Ukrainian media generally cannot afford to send a permanent correspondent to the US nor hire a US wire service most of the information on the US that Ukrainian viewers get is second-hand. In general for financial reasons most Ukrainians have not been in the US and don't really have a very good understanding of American institutions. It seems to me that the number of actual errors in reporting the US government, policy, and society is probably higher than American reporters would consider acceptable. What is important to America is accuracy of information, and fact checking is an essential part of their job.
Q.: Does the level of the average viewers and the average seekers for news in US and in Ukraine determine in any way exactly how reporting is balanced?
A.: Yes, but you have to understand that in the US there are many different audiences with different levels of culture, education, and economic well-being, and there are sources of news which respond to all the demands of the market. As to TV, the three traditional networks which were born in late 1940s (CBS, ABC, and NBC); there were some rules on how far they could go in editorials, state their own opinions, and moderate their views. The evening news broadcast of the three major network has an enormous effect in formulating public opinion in the US. But today the audience is contracting, and the influence of the three national networks has been reduced. This is the result of news technologies, satellite and cable television, and the Internet. And 60% of American homes now have cable TV, which means that fewer people of the viewing audience are watching the national networks.
Q.: Are there ratings of popularity, polls that reflect the popularity of TV programs? Do they influence TV?
A.: There is a vast ocean of data on TV viewing, and this information primarily is of interest to the TV advertisers. A particular programs or series will be repeated or maintained primarily in the commercial sphere, depending on how much the producers can charge per second of commercial.
Q.: How do you view in this context the advertising and commercials on Ukrainian TV?
A.: I heard that there is a certain amount of cynicism and lack of sympathy among Ukrainians in response to commercials. But one should keep in mind that it is because of commercials that TV is free and independent. Secondly, advertising is a form of creativity. In the US there is an annual awards competition for the best of ads, and watching them is simply fun. The commercials here in Ukraine are something different from what we have in US. In the US commercials actually interrupt the program without warning. We are used to and accept this. In Ukraine the style is a block of commercial before or after the show which is typical of most European countries.
Q.: In your view, is TV closer to art or intellectual creativity?
A.: I have to think about this, but in the US television is usually viewed as a democratic art.







