Media and the Community: Demonstrating Corporate Responsibility in Ukraine

How does a community in a transitional country maintain a social safety net for the poor, disabled, and elderly in the face of the inevitable dislocations as one system replaces another? As the Ivano-Frankivsk region in Western Ukraine emerges as a major economic center, the community has wrestled with these issues yet has also seen business and civil society step forward to address this issue. Vezha TV, a regional broadcaster, demonstrated the value of media to the community by launching a public effort to support a local retirement home resulting in donations of money and supplies from citizens and the business community.

In 2004 and 2005, Vezha TV worked with WDBJ-7, a TV station in Roanoke, Virginia, as part of the Ukraine Media Partnership Program (UMPP), funded by the US Embassy in Kyiv. The partnership focused on the development of Vezha’s journalism and management skills through an exchange of staff between the two stations. This hands-on experience allowed Vezha to witness first-hand how a local American television station operates while the American broadcasters were able to work in Vezha’s newsroom and provide guidance to Vezha staff working to develop the station.

While there were great gains made in professionalism in both journalism and management, the WDBJ staff also worked to explain the concept of social corporate responsibility. Kelly Zuber, WDBJ-7’s director of promotion and public affairs, conducted a set of training sessions devoted to station promotion including all on-air promotion and community-oriented events. Bob Lee, President and General Manager of WDBJ, explains how this fits with a station’s business approach: “While local broadcasting undeniably is a profit-based business, we are expected to operate in the public interest. Moreover, local stations generally operate in a highly competitive media environment. Successful local broadcasters in America know that attention to the needs of the community and actual involvement in the community help differentiate the station from its competitors.”

Through this project, Vezha staff learned how local television stations can become more involved with their communities through community service efforts and on-air public service announcements. During the program’s final roundtable at the end the 2005 internship, Bob Lee, President and General Manager of WDBJ-7 trained Vezha on the idea of community accountability for media, a concept which is proving to be an effective mechanism for creating improved local governance, including increased development and better delivery of basic services.

Inspired by the partnership and exposure to the concept of corporate responsibility, Vezha created television and radio public service announcements, and worked with local print media to describe the issues facing a local retirement home. This effort led to more than $2,000 in private donations for basic renovations to the facility, as well as donations of needed supplies and medicines by 19 local businesses.

While Vezha benefited greatly from the exchange, Bob Lee explained the effect on his staff: “The opportunity to work with our media partners in Ukraine is one of the best professional experiences many of us could have hoped for. We knew of the great reputation IREX had for fostering these exchange programs through programs such as UMPP, and we believed we could help Vezha Television and Radio Company come to grips with free market broadcasting. What we didn’t expect, however, was how inspired our staff would be and how much we, ourselves, could learn from our counterparts in Ivano-Frankivsk. I recommend the exchange program to any American broadcaster who believes in nurturing the emergence of independent media around the world.”

Vezha TV plans to continue to work with the local community to bring awareness to issues through public service announcements and campaigns benefiting those in need.