Last week saw the inauguration of the School of Journalistic Excellence. In a recent issue The Day reported on Larysa Ivshyna’s meeting with the first students of this school whose goal is to train young journalists by teaching them the principles of high-quality professional work in the modern mass media. The first participants, who came from all over Ukraine, completed a two-day course taught by experienced business media practitioners. Below are some comments from the young journalists who took part in this workshop.
Yevhen PYLYPENKO, Umanska zoria (The Uman Star):
“No matter how bombastic this may sound, the main goal of the press is to serve the truth, whatever it is: to speak out and convey the truth to the people. This is the chief criterion of an excellent press. Journalists may know how to write easily and clearly or convey their thoughts in 50-word-long sentences. They may be working at a popular national publication or at a modest ‘black and white’ newspaper in a small district center. But in either case, they should only give unbiased coverage of facts. Only then can the Ukrainian press be called the fourth estate, the ‘all-seeing eye’ that will help society control the three other estates and be the gallows for the fifth — corruption.”
Maksym ASAULIAK, Zaporizhia, Mig [The Instant]:
“I didn’t sleep or daydream during the classes. Like Gogol’s Pliushkin, I tried to compartmentalize gigabytes of new information in my head and my notebooks. No book or the Internet can compare with the opportunity to consult with an experienced practitioner, which this school gave us. Oleksii Pohorelov, director general of the Ukrainian Association of Periodical Press Publishers (UAVPP), and The Day’s editor in chief Larysa Ivshyna were there — seize the chance! Oleh Khomenko’s workshops are already a brand name.”
Antonina POCHEPETSKA, Kyiv-based journalist:
“My impressions of the two days of classes will last for months, and the useful information that I received — for years. The workshops offered by the School of Journalistic Excellence can be compared to a liquid concentrate. I would like to thank the school organizers — the UAVPP and the UMC — for their work. I would also like to thank personally Larysa Ivshyna and Viktor Savinov. After speaking with them, I got the impression that journalism gives you the power to change the world.”
Oleksandra SUBOTINA, Kyiv, Hazeta po-ukrainsky [Newspaper in Ukrainian]:
“A journalist is like a marine: once you’ve found the information, you process it and pass it on. But to keep yourself in shape, you need training under the guidance of an experienced commander. The teachers at the School of Journalistic Excellence are like that. During the two days of classes we had a refresher course on history, reviewed genres, and swapped roles with readers. We realized that our articles will only be needed if readers become aware that they and we are living the same life. And we are the ones who should make them think like this.”
Yulia BOIECHKO, Ivano-Frankivsk, Nova zoria [The New Star]:
“When I came back home to Ivano-Frankivsk, I looked at my unpublished articles with a different eye. I decided to improve them. UAVPP director general Pohorelov’s motto, ‘Never stop at what you have achieved but keep going upward,’ makes you work on yourself, your knowledge and skills. We, young journalists, were shown a striking example of how you can love the history of your nation and its people, interpret events, facts, and names, have a command of several languages, speak to somebody in his mother tongue, and be interesting to foreigners.”
Hanna KUDELIA, Dnipropetrovsk, student:
“Firstly, I would like to thank Ms. Ivshyna for her concern. It’s been three days since I came back from Kyiv. How much emotion and delight I felt there! The first thing that I did was to gather the friends from my group and give them a lecture on the basis of what I had learned at the Kyiv workshops. Can you imagine how they looked at me? We, future journalists, are eager to achieve success and create something new. The School of Journalistic Excellence is a project that will bear fruit. We must raise the regional press to a higher qualitative level. We should scrap the simple delivery of material: what, where, when, full stop. What our universities lack is highly-proficient teachers and interesting forms of teaching. This school has them. We were given an excellent theoretical background that already today our readers can see in practice — in their favorite publications where we work.”
Nazarii VIVCHARYK, Cherkasy, newspaper Nova doba [New Age]:
“In the two days that I spent at the School of Journalistic Excellence I learned more than in one year of university. Not all the lecturers in our educational institution have worked as journalists. So, for me personally, the school was valuable because I had a chance to receive hands-on experience from high-profile professionals, who shared their knowledge in a systemic, easy-to-grasp, and interesting way. Theory was backed by practical classes. Now that I’ve been to this school, I can see the mistakes that our journalists make. I will try to avoid these in my everyday work.
“What stunned me was the just statement made by The Day’s editor Larysa Ivshyna: she told us that we should not be microphone stands — we should have our own civic position. True, a passive individual will not be interested in problems. A passive person is indifferent, while we, future news hawks, should be keenly aware of social mood and respond to emerging problems. This is quality journalism. But in order to be able to pass judgments, one should be inquisitive and always strive for perfection.”
Nadia SHESTOPAL, Khmelnytsky, VSIM Business Weekly:
“The School of Journalistic Excellence not only gave me additional knowledge but also a chance to become a true professional and a ‘quality journalist.’ Thanks to the school, I decided to strive for proficiency. This is my goal now. I am doing my best to provide information — I mean positive information that will make the reader smile. I am learning to think in practical terms and to process information that the reader will eventually receive. I would like to thank Larysa Ivshyna for the book The Apocrypha of Klara Gudzyk. That’s my favorite book now. Ms. Gudzyk is now my role model.”
Tetiana TERESHCHENKOVA, Kharkiv, Berezil magazine:
“Quality journalism is about professionalism; it is not just a profession because it calls for a creative approach to writing informational texts. I say this to my colleagues, who did not take part in the first module but will definitely test their talents next time around. I am already applying my newly-acquired knowledge. After the first day of school I recorded an interview with the poet and publisher Ivan Malkovych. My subconscious told me that I should express everything that was said within the minimal limit of symbols; there are primary and tertiary issues (according to Viktor Savinov). The school’s only downside is that we didn’t have enough time to meet everyone and exchange experience — I hope this will be rectified for the next modules. Excellent journalists of tomorrow are scattered; meanwhile, Ukrainian journalism is in such need of dialogue. Ms. Ivshyna also talked about this in the context of a nationwide dialogue.”
Natalia SIDOVA , Khmelnytsky, newspaper Ye! Podillia:
“The school gave me a chance to mingle with leading Ukrainian journalists — ‘news hawks.’ They tried to put across us as much information as possible in a limited time span and answer as many of the questions that we literally showered them with. I was impressed by Larysa Ivshyna’s phrase, with which I fully agree and which gave me food for thought: ‘There are more myths in modern Ukrainian history than in the whole history of our country, beginning with Kyivan Rus’. It is up to journalists to debunk these myths.’ Most of all I enjoyed the day we spent with Oleh Khomenko. He not only taught us the theoretical basics of journalism but also the way these can be put into practice. No other courses provide so much knowledge as mingling with other students. We learned about how other regional publications work, exchanged working experience, and made a lot of friends.”
Iryna PIZYK, Kyiv, Yurydychna hazeta [Juridical Newspaper]:
“The School of Journalistic Excellence made me look differently at journalism and the publishing business in general. I have a few new ideas that I am planning to implement very soon. I learned that well-designed graphics can qualitatively affect the content of the entire publication. After all, the world does not stand still — it keeps changing. Therefore, we, journalists, should also be changing, without forgetting the readers’ traditions and requirements.”
Maria BODNAR, Ternopil, newspaper Express:
“The School of Journalistic Excellence is new experience and fresh knowledge. We met stellar teachers and wanted to become stars too. It is a shame that the classes were only two days long. The school is geared to a high turnover of students, and quantity may not turn into quality. New people will be studying new topics tomorrow. But we will always have pleasant memories of our time at this school.”
Yevhen KYRIAN, Brovary, Obrii Batkivshchyny [Horizons of the Fatherland]:
“Teachers are the school’s main drawing card. They are people with extensive experience in business media, and they are setting modern journalist standards in Ukraine. They have a lot of hands- on experience, and they were very pleased to share their knowledge with us. No university or textbook can furnish information of this quality. Real-life contacts help you look differently at these people and journalism as a whole and, consequently, at one’s place in this field. Larysa Ivshyna, Oleksii Pohorelov, and Viktor Savinov infect you with professionalism: you want to be on par with them, which inspires you to make headway.”
