New television figure with a mixed background joins “It’s better not to lie”

The Head of the information and analysis service of TV Channel STB Oleksiy Mustafin will run classes for students of journalist faculties as part of the journalist initiative “It’s better not to lie”. 

Oleksiy will give lectures which will reveal the techniques for putting pressure on journalists and the methods for countering them.

“Yes, Oleksiy was on the side of the censors in 2004 when he was in charge of TV Channel “Inter” news..  However his work on the same “Inter” in 2005 and now on STB is an entirely different form of journalism, with totally different standards.

His experience during the days of censorship can be used in the fight against it now. All of the participants in “It’s better not to lie” agree that his participation is a good idea. At the end of the day, who can better prepare future journalists for pressure which they may encounter in editorial offices?”, Yehor Sobolyev, Head of the civic organization “For professional journalism” explains.

Mustafin himself commented: “When journalists describe censorship and pressure, it is in my opinion necessary, yet not enough. Future media people would find it useful to understand what takes place on the other side of the figuratively speaking barricades. After all the temptation to use the media not as it should be has always been experienced by politicians and its owners, and it’s unlikely that the presence “jeans” onslaught is much better than political manipulation from the media. Therefore the ability to counter pressure, both flagrant and subtle will always come in handy. I confess that it’s harder for editors to work with people who adhere to journalist standards, however rephrasing the old saying, it’s better to lose with a professional than to find with a hack”,

The initiative “It’s better not to lie” is a series of specialized courses and classes at which prominent journalists are giving students of six faculties of journalism an understanding of the dangers which journalism “to order” and censorship pose for their future careers and are also teaching them to fight with such phenomena. The organizers are the civic organization “For professional journalism”, together with the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine, the Commission on Journalist Ethics, “Telekritika” and the National Association of Broadcasters. Financial aid has been provided by the International “Renaissance” Foundation.

IMI, based on information from the Independent Media Trade Union