METHODOLOGY

THE CONCEPT

In this study, we want to map the districts where residents receive either insufficient or no verified information about events in their hromada and district. A hromada (community) is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories.

In order to map the districts of Ukraine, we have compiled a database of independent local media, including newspapers, magazines, digital media, radio, and television. We did not separate the types of media in the final analysis – for a district not to be a news desert, it is enough to have at least one independent local news outlet based within the district or to be covered by at least two independent local news outlets from other districts.

However, the presence of one media outlet in a district is not an ideal outcome. Competition is necessary for the optimum development of the media ecosystem in a district. Therefore, we will regard districts with 2+ independent local media outlets as healthier than those with one local media outlet. The same applies to coverage: a healthier ecosystem requires media organisations to be in the context they cover, so even though the formal criteria are met, districts without their own independent media that are covered by independent local media from other districts will be regarded as less "healthy".

The proposed gradation is as follows:

"unhealthy" district – there are no media outlets based in the district and the district is not covered by news outlets from other districts OR there are no media outlets based in the district and the district is covered by only one media outlet from other districts;

"partially healthy" district – a district with ONE independent media outlet OR a district covered by at least two media outlets from other districts;

"healthy" district – a district with two or more independent news outlets.

We focused exclusively on information programmes, news, and local stories. In the case of television and radio, we did not analyse entertainment content, talk shows, music playlists, or the national joint newscast (this is a national project, while we have focused on local ones). The differences between the analysis of different types of media were based on the opportunities for accessing the content of a particular publication.

Online (text)

We analysed the production of this particular media (including reprints).

TV

We analysed the production of this particular media. Content from programmes or shows from other media outlets that are simply broadcast here was not included in the analysis.

If a TV channel has a website, our primary focus will be on TV content, as that is the main resource of the organisation.

If there is no access to a TV channel (because it has no digital footprint or is available only through local operators), then we analyse the website. The same applies for radio and print media.

Radio

We analysed the production of this particular media. Content from programmes from other media outlets that are simply broadcast here is not included in the analysis.

The sample included only FM radio.

If a radio station does not have a website (or YouTube channel) and only live broadcasts are available, we analyse such media only in a legal context.

Print

We analysed the production of this particular media (including reprints).
If an outlet does not have a website or there is no access to the outlet’s products (i.e. the newspaper itself), we analyse such media only in a legal context.

Media independence will be measured in terms of two aspects – legal and content.

It is essential that a media organisation should have no legal relations with anyone who could potentially influence editorial policy, such as representatives of political authorities (local and national) or local big businessmen with political influence. If there is any such connection – which may be expressed as winning non-competitive tenders from government or local elites; a person with political influence being on the board or editorial staff; or other connections with persons who can influence editorial policy – the media outlet is automatically considered dependent and is not included in the sample.

In terms of content, media outlets will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

the extent to which the media covers the critical information needs of the hromada;

signs of independence in the form of adherence to professional standards (the main focus is on honesty and transparency of content).

Additional criteria can help determine the media outlet's assessment if the basic check does not provide a clear answer to the question of media independence.

The research team added criteria or resolved cases that were not on the initial list based on the principles of peer review and case law.

It should be noted that media outlets found to be promoting pro-Russian narratives were automatically disqualified from the list.

Content sampling:

We analysed media products from the last 10 days since the date of inspection of a particular editorial team. During this period, everything related to news and information programmes (including long-form and special projects) was reviewed.

DEFINITIONS

News deserts – an area in which at least ONE local independent media outlet is not based, or an area covered by at most one local independent media outlet from other areas.

Local media – media outlets that focus on covering events in one or more districts or that meet the critical information needs of residents of one or more districts.

Independent media – media outlets (newspapers, magazines, radio, digital, and television) that:

а) are not legally connected to local or national authorities and local elites;

b) have not been found to have distorted coverage of politically sensitive topics (elections, political scandals at the local and national level, or paid articles);

c) satisfy the critical information needs of the residents of the districts.

Local elites – a) big businessmen who have a vested interest in controlling the district in order to make a profit and maintain a favourable political situation; b) people close to political authorities who do not have open business interests in the district, but have significant influence on other district beneficiaries.

District – an administrative unit of division of the state; the unit of analysis in this study. The list of districts is available here. The district distribution of the 2020 reform ("enlargement") was used as a basis.

Station – the city or district where the core part of the editorial team or head office is located; for editorial teams that have moved from the temporarily occupied territories, it is the area covered the most or the area whose residents' critical information needs are met.

Coverage – at least 10 news items per week in an independent local media outlet operating outside the covered area that mention and/or report on events in a specific area. This does not apply to reporting on major national tragedies (e.g. the bombardment of the city of Dnipro, Mariupol Drama Theatre, etc.) or reports from the front line, which do not count as coverage.

CRITICAL INFORMATION NEEDS

This research was based on the methodology of identifying critical information needs developed by the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at the University of Northern California. This approach best represents the hromada's need for information that helps its members make well-founded life choices. This methodology is also part of a similar study on North Carolina's "news deserts", which we relied on during this project.

The critical information needs of local hromadas refer to the information that hromada members need in order to be able to meet their health and safety needs, to have full access to education, employment and business, and to engage fully in the social and political life of their hromadas. Meeting these needs requires hromadas to have timely access to information in the following eight categories, in a language they understand and through media they can access:

Emergencies and public safety: information about emergencies and risks, both immediate and long-term. Emergency information covers hazardous weather conditions (natural disasters), environmental and other biologically dangerous outbreaks, public safety threats, including terrorism, public order (policing) and public security in a settlement, territorial hromada or district. This includes all topics related to citizen security in times of war: large-scale attacks, occupation, evacuation, advancements on the front line, and liberation of territories during counteroffensives.

Healthcare: information on healthcare services, including family and public health information. Information on the availability, quality and cost of local healthcare, including access to state/community healthcare facilities; programmes and services, including wellness/prophylactic/recreational facilities (e.g. sanatoriums), local clinics and hospitals; timely notification of disease spread and vaccination schedules; local health awareness campaigns and interventions.

Education: information on all aspects of the local education system, especially at a time when local education is a major issue for public debate, decision-making and resource allocation, including the quality and governance of local school systems at the hromada level; the quality of schools in specific districts and geographic regions; information on educational opportunities, including school performance ratings (of both state/public and private schools), tutoring, children's extracurricular development programmes; information on adult education, including language courses, vocational training, and access to higher education.

Transport systems: all hromada members should be promptly informed about local transport, including basic transport services and their costs, including urban, intercity and international transport; traffic and road conditions, including those related to weather and road repairs.

Economic development: access to a wide range of economic information, including employment and job opportunities within the region; training, retraining and skills development; information on small business opportunities, including start-up assistance and capital resources; information on major economic development initiatives affecting all local levels.

Environment: information on the state of the local environment in the short and long term; quality of local and district water and air, timely warning of hazards; actual and potential environmental hazards in the locality and the district, including toxic waste, radioactive contamination; issues of natural resource development affecting the health, quality of life and economic development of local hromada members; information on ecosystem recovery activities and long-term environmental sustainability issues.

Сitizens’ initiatives and public services (civic information): information on core civic institutions, non-profit organisations and associations, including their services, accessibility and opportunities to participate in libraries and information services of hromadas; cultural and artistic information; recreational opportunities; non-profit groups and associations; community social services and programmes; religious institutions.

Politics and governance: information on government changes, resolutions, decrees, new laws, and open auctions; information on government activities at the local, regional and national levels of governance; decisions of local and regional authorities on all social and political issues, as well as on relevant public policy initiatives that affect hromadas.

We found that meeting 6 out of the 8 critical information needs of the hromada within 10 days (the period of content analysis) was sufficient for a media outlet to receive a positive score for this criterion.

VERIFICATION PROCEDURE

Criteria 1. Is it a regional media outlet?

Identify the territory covered by the media outlet:

Station — the city or district where the core part of the editorial team or head office is located; for editorial teams that have moved from the temporarily occupied territories, it is the area covered the most or the area whose residents' critical information needs are met.

Coverage – at least 10 news items per week in an independent local media outlet operating outside the covered area that mentions and/or reports on events in a specific area – even if a Luhansk-based outlet reports on the town of Horlivka (Donetsk Oblast) while in Donetsk Oblast. This does not apply to reporting on major national tragedies (e.g. the bombardment of the city of Dnipro, Mariupol Drama Theatre, etc.) or reports from the front line, which do not count as coverage.

Criteria 2. Covering critical information needs

2.1. Determine whether the media outlet satisfies the critical information needs of the hromada (at least 6 out of 8 needs should be covered). For this purpose, we studied the media content from the received sample.

Criteria 3.Determining whether a media outlet is independent

3.1. Check the ultimate beneficiaries and individuals involved in a media outlet for their political and business interests: are its beneficiaries politicians or people in business with significant influence on regional politics? The legal entity of the editorial team can be searched and checked through open data registers (OpenDataBot; Clarity Project; YouControl) for the names of owners and ultimate beneficiaries, tenders and procurement (especially from local authorities), and the involvement of the media outlet or its owners in court cases and rulings. A media outlet is not vetted if suspicious actions or decisions are discovered that may indicate the media's dependence on the authorities, certain politicians, large businesses, or oligarchs.

3.1.1. There is nothing wrong with public procurement per se, as it may be the only way to diversify revenues in small towns rather than being entirely dependent on grant funding. Public procurement can be a sign that an editorial team is dependent on the government, although not necessarily fully. Attention should be paid to tenders with a contract value exceeding UAH 350,000 or US$9300 (the approximate combined annual salary of a three-person editorial staff) in settlements with a population of over 20,000 people, since such settlements should have healthy markets and commercial offers. EXCEPTION: Media outlets in the temporarily occupied territories, as there is no market there as such.

3.2.2. Separate editorial teams in franchises were analysed individually since the franchise ownership structure rules out the franchisor's intervention.

3.3 The owners' names can be individually searched via Google or registers/databases such as the CHESNO movement, which encourages citizens to fight political corruption and monitor the authorities' actions, has a fairly large database of politicians and individuals who have run for local and national office. Still, it’s essential to maintain a tempered judgement: if a person last ran for office in 2010 and has not been involved in any political activity since then, we ignored that.

3.4. Additional criteria that can define a media outlet as independent are used ONLY when there is no other information in that section, or it is not clear enough:

a public declaration of independence in the editorial policy (if the policy is publicly available);

participation in (or cooperation with) organisations and federations of repute in the industry; cooperation with other independent media;

a history of working with donors and grant funding.

Criteria 4. Professional standards

4.1 We analysed the content based on an agreed sample for advertorial or unmarked advertising or other signs that might indicate the media's dependence on funding from government agencies or individuals and consequently the promotion of their interests. Professional standards have been determined using the methodology for detecting advertorials.

This research was produced with the financial support of the European Union.
Its contents are the sole responsibility of Media Development Foundation and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

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