On September 26-28, an intensive training for journalists entitled "Your Mission - Your Voice. Ukrainian journalists on the front line". The event brought together dozens of brave journalists who are ready to take on dangerous challenges to tell the truth from the hottest spots of the country.
Day 1: Theory and practice during the war
The training began with speeches by experienced journalists Ivan Antypenko, a correspondent for Radio Liberty, and Andriy Yurychko, a media trainer and lecturer at the Institute of Journalism at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
The journalists learned about personal stories from the front line, where the situation changes every second. They learned how to plan safe routes, assess risks, and prepare equipment before going on a mission. One of the key topics was cooperation with press services and the military, and finding heroes for stories, which helps to create emotional stories.
"Knowing the rules by which press officers work is no less important than knowing how to write. We are trying to teach journalists how to work organically with press officers and find cool characters for their stories," said Andriy Yurychko.
"Pre-medical training, risk assessment, route and accommodation planning, and equipment checks are some of the key checkpoints in this process," added Ivan Antypenko.
Particular attention was paid to practical tasks: the participants practiced various scenarios of working with civilians and the military during the war, learned how to cover the most sensitive topics and avoid mistakes in the process of collecting material.
Day 2: The survival of journalism and the fight against burnout
The second day started with a question that contemporary journalism faces: will it survive in the face of social media dominance? Bohdan Butkevych and Olena Vostrova, together with the participants, sought to answer this question by analyzing current media trends.
In addition, a large block of time was devoted to the topic of professional burnout. Journalists learned self-help methods and crisis techniques that can be used to maintain mental health. Olena Vostrova explained how important it is to be able to recognize the signs of burnout in time and what to do to prevent it.
The trainer also raised complex ethical issues: what can be said and what is better left without comment during the war? How should a journalist approach sensitive content when dealing with people who have gone through traumatic experiences?
Day 3: Saving lives and first aid
The final day of the training was a real survival school. The journalists, under the guidance of a Realist Security Hub instructor, took a first aid course, which proved to be vital for those working in combat zones.
The training included:
- Massive bleeding - how to stop massive bleeding;
- Airway management - airway management;
- Respiration - basics of breathing support;
- Circulation and hypothermia - circulation management and hypothermia.
The Academy of Ukrainian Press sincerely hopes that this training has become an important step in strengthening the position of Ukrainian journalism in the face of war and information challenges of our time. Our series of events has shown that journalism is not only about stories, but also about the ability to survive, make quick decisions and remain ethical in the most difficult situations.
The Center for Media and Digital Literacy of the Institute for Media and Communication Studies at the Free University of Berlin (Germany) became a partner of the Academy of Ukrainian Press in the implementation of the training project.
* The Center for Media and Digital Literacy (CeMIL) at the Free University of Berlin is part of the Institute for Media and Communication Studies and has state-of-the-art expertise in media literacy. It has many years of experience in conducting trainings and research with journalists and communication scholars from Eastern European countries. He has also successfully managed other projects under previous rounds of the Eastern European Partnership Programs.
