Ukrainian Service Reporters Commended
Several RFE/RL Ukrainian Service journalists have received awards for their reporting.
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Ukrainian Service is heading into autumn on a winning streak, having recently received several awards for its reporting.
Marichka Naboka has been awarded for the “Best Audio Broadcast” on gender-related issues in a competition sponsored by Ukraine’s Volyn Press Club, the Independent Public Network of Press Clubs of Ukraine, the Gender Center, and Internews. Her winning story, “Is There Sexism In Ukraine?,” discusses gender stereotypes in society and the sexist speech commonly used in politics and on TV by the country’s prominent personalities and political leaders.
The report, Naboka says, exposes prejudices that persist at a “domestic, working, political, and even lexical level” in Ukraine. The prejudices are often unseen, she says, pointing out that while women in Ukraine are generally paid less than men, and are fewer in parliament, only 48 percent of women believe gender discrimination exists.
Serhiy Andrushko and Mykhailo Tkach, both journalists with RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service’s program Schemes: Corruption in Details, have also been recognized for their investigative reporting into high-level corruption.
Andrushko’s report on public sector reform, entitled “Imitation Game,” was awarded for “Best Coverage of Current Affairs” by the Independent Association of Broadcasters of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Association of Press Publishers. He was also a finalist in the category, “Best Coverage of a Complex Topic” for a report about land grabs of exclusive river-bank property by senior officials in Ukraine.
Tkach was recently honored with the 2017 “Pavlo Sheremet Award for Passion for the Profession” by the popular website Ukrainska Pravda. At this summer’s Mezhyhirya journalism festival, he also received special mention by the National Investigative Journalism Competition for his video report, “Prime Minister At The Mother-In-Law’s House,” which investigated irregularities relating to real estate owned by Volodymyr Hroysman.
Ukrainian Service Director Maryana Drach said she was proud of the recognition earned by her colleagues from Ukraine’s journalistic community.
She commended them for “digging out the truth for the benefit of society, despite the pressure on investigative journalists, including those working for Schemes.”
Schemes: Corruption In Details is a weekly television program exploring the underside of Ukrainian politics, produced by RFE/RL’s Ukraine Service in partnership with Ukraine’s First Public TV channel (UT-1). With over 11 million viewers, it is one of UT-1’s five most-watched programs. Its creators are among the journalists that founded YanukovychLeaks, a reporting project that uncovered massive corruption under the government of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.