KSU student journalists joined the discussion on the future of frontline press at an international level
On April 21, the Ukrainian-Swedish online forum of the frontline press «Journalism as a Lifeline in Times of War» took place. Among approximately 200 participants of the event, organized by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the Swedish Publishers Association (TU), student journalists from Kherson State University took an active part.
For future media professionals of KSU, participation in such a large-scale event became a unique opportunity to hear the «voice» of real journalism, which today operates at the limit of human capabilities. The forum program covered the most pressing issues: from the survival of editorial offices under shelling to the implementation of new safety technologies.
During the international session, the head of NSJU Serhii Tomylenko and the president of the Association of Swedish Media Publishers Johan Taubert emphasized that local journalism in wartime is part of the critical infrastructure that literally saves lives.
Students had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with cases of resilience from frontline media. In particular, they shared their experiences:
- Anatolii Zhupyna (newspaper «Novyi Den», Kherson), who spoke about the specifics of publishing and distributing the press in the region familiar to the students;
- Vasyl Miroshnyk (newspaper «Zoria», Kharkiv region), who shared the experience of delivering newspapers to communities under the threat of enemy drones;
- Kostiantyn Hryhorenko («Obrii Iziumshchyny»), who spoke about the difficult path of restoring operations after de-occupation.
Particular attention was paid to safety at the forum. It was noted that the use of FPV drones has radically changed working conditions at the front, as a result of which editorial offices now require not only bulletproof vests but also drone detectors and special communication tools.
For KSU students, as future journalists, the consideration of the topic of journalistic ethics and the fight against disinformation was important. Forum participants supported a joint Resolution calling on the international community to strengthen institutional support for Ukrainian local media and to facilitate the release of 28 journalists who are currently in Russian captivity.
In the second part of the forum, students learned about Swedish approaches to developing regional media from the editor-in-chief of «Sydsvenskan» Jonas Kan’je, and also received advice from mentors of the «Frontline Press» project on how to make local stories interesting for a global audience.
Participation in such events allows KSU students to integrate into the professional community even during their studies, understand the real demands of the industry, and feel the solidarity of international partners, particularly media organizations from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, which have united within the «Ukrainian Media Fund» to support the Ukrainian word.
Daria Vasylenko, 3rd-year student of the «Journalism» specialty