Media Owners in Southern Ukraine: Who Orders the Informational Music in Mykolaiv and Kherson

Media owners in Southern Ukraine: who orders the informational “music” in Mykolaiv and Kherson In Mykolaiv and Kherson, just like all over Ukraine, there are almost no independent media outlets. Most of the owners of media outlets in Southern Ukraine are politicians and influential people who form media products based on viewpoints convenient to them. It seems like this is the very reason why media outlets are not in a hurry to comply with the requirements of the law and disclose the names of their real owners. Using information from open sources (records of the National TV and Radio Council, Single Register of Legal Entities, and list of registered print media outlets) and insider information, we tried to figure out whose hands control the informational sphere in Mykolaiv and Kherson. MYKOLAIV The most popular media outlets for Mykolaiv residents are Internet resources, the number of which is increasing every year. There are about 20 serving the city. Moreover, there are five TV/radio companies (channels) registered in Mykolaiv and more than 250 newspapers and magazines, of which about 10 publish regularly. “Basically, Mykolaiv media is pretty biased. Media literate people can see it very clearly and can quickly figure out who publishes pre-paid “ordered” materials and who the websites work for. However, what is nice is that in Mykolaiv there is a new generation of young journalists that is growing and has a very principled position,” said Denys Barashkovskyi, head of the Anticorruption Investigations Center. TV CHANNELS: The founder of the TV channel Mart is the Mykolaiv City Council. This year, according to city council decision #48/48 of June 18, 2015, the statutory capital of TV/Radio Company Mart was increased by UAH 380,000 from the city budget. TV/Radio Company NIS-TV was founded by Henadii Zadirko, a Mykolaiv journalist, who later became an MP from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc. He has a lot of experience with changing political parties, which he joins and then leaves. For example, he has been a member of the parties Reform and Order, Socialist Party of Ukraine and Batkivshchyna. Now the founders of the TV channel are his wife Elena, Vitalii Mekheda, Andriy Hnoevyi, and Yurii Lyubarov, but the ultimate beneficiary is indicated as Elena Zadirko. TV channel TAK TV was created in 2005 as a hands-on platform for interns who were TV journalism students. This project was done by Gleb Holovchenko and the College of Press and TV. Holovchenko is the general director of the TV channel. In 2011, he became a member of the executive board of the Mykolaiv City Council. TV channel Mykolaiv belongs to the Mykolaiv Regional Directorate, a branch of the National TV Company of Ukraine. Until recently, the founder of this TV channel was the Mykolaiv Regional State TV/Radio Company, which was reorganized into a branch of the Mykolaiv Communal Tv/Radio Company. The TV channel is managed by Yaroslav Indykov, a former member of the regional council from Batkivshchyna; earlier he was the head of the press service of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration. The founder of TV/Radio Company Saturn is Iryna Prokhorova. The TV company is managed by Andrii Nedo. NEWSPAPERS: There are very few print publications left in Mykolaiv that print regularly, because with the emergence of Internet news resources, demand for newspapers has dropped significantly. The newspaper Vechernyi Mykolaiv (Evening Mykolaiv) was registered as the official publication of the Mykolaiv City Council. Its informational policy changes depending on who the mayor is and which political force has a majority in the city council. The newspaper Ridne Prybuzhzhya (Native Prybuzhzhya) is the official publication of the Mykolaiv Regional Council. Its chief editor, Tetyana Fabrykova, is a former regional council member from the party Front for Change. The newspaper Yuzhnaya Pravda (Southern Truth) is one of the oldest publications in Mykolaiv region and has one of the largest circulations. Since 1994, the founders of the newspaper have been a team of employees. Vasha Gazeta (Your Newspaper) is connected to Ihor Dyatlov, head of the Mykolaiv Opposition Bloc, who ran for mayor of Mykolaiv in the recent election. During the election, its circulation was 280,000 and the newspaper was given out for free. The chief editor of this publication is Opposition Bloc MP Oleksandr Omelchuk. The founder of Vasha Gazeta, Ltd. is Vymas-Center, Ltd. The head of this company is Volodymyr Korol, who in Mykolaiv is known to be Dyatlov’s right hand. Korol has managed a few companies that belong to Dyatlov’s wife, Olesya. The owners of the newspaper Mykolaiv News are journalists Anatolii Bilonozhko and Oleksandr Nastenko and the founders were the editorial team. Besides the print publication, there is an electronic version of Mykolaiv News http://www.niknews.mk.ua. WEBSITES: One of the most popular news websites in Mykolaiv is Prestupnosti.net (No to Crime) https://news.pn/ru. Its founder is Ukrainian Media Group Informational Agency, Ltd., which was founded by Andrii Senchenko and Artem Diblenko. According to insider information, Prestupnosti.net was created by a Dmytro Dmytriiev with financial support from pro- right Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lutsenko. Dmytriiev himself was the assistant to the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Volodymyr Uvarov, and obviously had access to operational information for his publication. Moreover, Dmytriiev was an advisor to the head of the regional council from the Party of Regions, Ihor Dyatlov. On the news portal Nikvesti http://nikvesti.com, there is information about it being registered as a newspaper. According to the State Register of Print Media and Information Agencies, Nikvesti’s founder was private entrepreneur Altair Investment/Construction Company, whose founder was Oleksandra Finkova, a close friend and co-worker of Vice-Governor Oksana Yanyshevska. It is interesting to note that a few years earlier, Yanyshevska was personally the head of this company. According to insider information, Nikvesti, until recently, was controlled by Yanyshevska and thus by Mykolaiv Regional Governor Vadym Merykov. Internet publication Podrobnosti.mk.ua (Details) http://podrobnosti.mk.ua is connected to the head of the Opposition Bloc in Mykolaiv, Ihor Dyatlov. In the Register of Print Media, we found a newspaper with the same name, the founder of which was Podrobnosti pro Mykolaiv (Details about Mykolaiv), which belongs to Vymas-Center, Ltd., which we already know about, which is managed by Dyatlov’s man, Volodymyr Korol. Online publication Taims.mk.ua (Times) http://times.mk.ua/ is connected to Mykolaiv Regional Council member from the Opposition Bloc, Maksym Nevenchannyi. On the website there is absolutely no information about the editorial team or the owners of the publication. However, according to the Register of Legal Entities, Times.mk.ua, Ltd. was founded by Maksym Nevenchannyi. According to insider information, for a long time this website has been financed by influential Mykolaiv businessman Viktor Cherednyk, who in certain circles is known by the nickname Tazyk. Internet newspaper Novosti N http://novosti-n.org and newspaper Nash Gorod (Our City) Mykolaiv were created by Anatolii Onofriychuk, a Mykolaiv political technologist. According to insider information, Onofriychuk, as is known, is the owner and chief editor of both publications. On the website Moy Gorod (My City) Mykolaiv http://mycity.mk.ua, there is information about the registration of this print media outlet as a newspaper. According to Nikolai Popov, chief editor of the publication, this website could be called an electronic version of a newspaper. The owner of Moy Gorod Mykolaiv is Mykolaiv Regional Council member from Nash Kray Olena Donchenko, who used to be the assistant to Yurii Kormishkin, a regional council member for several convocations. During the election campaign in Mykolaiv, the informational/analytical portal http://izvestia.nikolaev.ua and newspaper by the name Mykolaiv Izvestia (News) appeared. The founder of the newspaper was Mykolaiv Izvestia Media Group, Ltd., which was founded by a Nataliia Melnychenko. Both publications are connected to Oleksandr Yasynskyi, regional council member from the Opposition Bloc, and also his friend Oleksandr Ovdyenko, a member of the Zhovtenve District Council. Yasynskyi himself denies any connection to the media resource. “They have founders. I use this website as a user when I need to order an article, etc.,” said Yasynskyi. The online publication Nikmedia http://nikmedia.com.ua, according to unofficial information, is financed by the family of Vladyslav Entyn, businessman and Mykolaiv City Council member. In the Register of Print Media, we found a newspaper with the same name – Nikmedia, which was founded by private entrepreneur Interlegis. The founder of the latter company was the mother of Vladyslav Entyn, Nataliya. Information agency Inshe.TV (Other.TV) http://inshe.tv was registered under the publication’s chief editor, Oksana Tykhonchuk, and another person, Volodymyr Maystrenko, who for a long time was the co- founder of Mykolaiv factory Krystal. Mykolaiv internet publication Nikinform http://nikinform.com is controlled by former city council member Oleksandr Boltyanskyi. According to him, the publication is “part of the structure” of the company Shpyl, which he manages. “It is a structural unit of my company. In the statute of the company, it has this type of activity registered, which is why on behalf of the company Shpyl, we have a right to own an internet publication,” Oleksandr Boltyanskyi told a journalist. The website 0512 http://www.0512.ua is part of the CitySites network of city portals; its managing director is businessman Evhenii Yavtushenko. Internet publication http://nikcenter.org/ is a project that was created by the nongovernmental organization Center for Investigative Journalism, which in 2010 was created by Mykolaiv journalists Tetyana Klyakhyna, Oleh Ohanov and Tetyana Fabrykova. This organization is financed with grant funding. The owner of media resource Korabelov.info http://www.korabelov.info is Mykolaiv journalist Serhii Belov. RADIO: Radio-Roks (Rocks) Ukraine was founded by Kyiv companies TV/Radio Company Classic Radio, Ltd. and Tavr Company, Ltd. The ultimate beneficiaries of Classic Radio, Ltd. are Cypriot Marios Prokopiu and MP Mykola Bahraiev (IV-VII convocations), who is also the founder of a group of companies that includes TV music channels M1 and M2 and popular radio stations in Ukraine including Russkoe Radio (Russian Radio), Khit FM (Hit FM), Kiss FM, Radio ROKS (Rocks), Radio Melodiya (Melody) and Radio Relax. The ultimate beneficiary of Tavr Company, Ltd., which was founded by Tekhnomedia-P, Ltd., ICM, Ltd. and Investytsiyni Shlyakhy (Investment Journeys) Company, Ltd. and Cyprian Mindori Enterprises Limited is Viktor Volosiuk, assistant to Mykola Bahraiev. Russkoe Radio (Russian Radio) in Mykolaiv was founded by Volodymyr Proshchenko, Anatolii Belov and Oleh Haysha, who is also the director of the radio station. Radio Station Mykolaiv is part of the branch of the National TV/Radio Company of Ukraine’s Mykolaiv Regional Directorate. Until recently, the owner of this radio station was the Mykolaiv Regional State TV/Radio Company. KHERSON Kherson’s media market is pretty specific. In the city, there are six TV channels and radio stations, more than 20 informational websites and about 200 registered print media outlets, of which four regularly publish. “The peculiarity of Kherson is that it is a city of people who like to read, which is why newspapers and Internet websites have really large audiences here. TV channels somehow are not popular at all,” said Dementii Belyi, head of the Kherson organization Committee of Voters of Ukraine. “One more peculiarity is that very few influential people from Kherson, businessmen and politicians, want to have their own media outlets since it would entail regular spending. They think it is much easier to pay for a publication when necessary than to finance a certain media outlet regularly.” TV CHANNELS: According to the records of the National TV and Radio Council, in Kherson six TV companies are registered, VTV, Kratu (Real-Media, Ltd.), Kherson Plus, TViy (Your) Plus, YaTB, and regional state TV/radio channel Skyfiya. Of them, the most popular is channel VTV, which is officially owned by Tetyana Kamenska (she is the owner of the private entrepreneur that received a license for it). This channel is managed by Tetyana with her son Vitalii. The Kamenskyi family are pretty famous journalists and media managers in Kherson. The next most popular in the region is state-owned Skyfiya, which is managed by Valerii Dolyna, head of the regional organization National Union of Journalists of Ukraine. The other channels are not that popular. According to Vitalii Bohdanov, member of the Kherson City Council, no politicians or businessmen even want to “invest” in them since they are considered to be unprofitable. TV channel Kratu (Real-Media, Ltd.) was founded by Viacheslav Horlovskyi, son of Zakhar Horlovskyi, who was the head of Industrial Commercial Association Concern Elektromash. From 2002 to 2007, he was an assistant to Ihor Alekseyev, MP from the Communist Party of Ukraine. The director of this TV channel, Oleksandr Horshenyn, was the head of the executive board of machine building factory Amestist. TV channel Kherson Plus, according to the records of the National TV and Radio Council, was founded by Andrii Cheredniuk and Volodymyr Kosiuk, who is its director as well. It is interesting that, according to the Register of Legal Entities, the main founder (more than 50% of the statutory capital) of this legal entity, other than Andriiy Cherednyuk and Volodymyr Kosiuk, was Ekateryna Samoylyk, former MP from the Communist Party. She was also a founder of radio AKS. TV channel TViy (Your) Plus (Pozytyv (Positive) Media Group, Ltd.) is owned by Liudmyla Kravchenko. The general director of the channel is Eduard Dovbysh, who is also director of the tourist complex Fregat and a former member of the city council from the Party of Regions. In the recent elections, he ran again for the Kherson City Council, but as a member of the Opposition Bloc. TV channel YaTB was founded by Svitlana Karrieva (she is also the director), Ihor Kraevyi, and Oleksii Ivanytskyi. NEWSPAPERS: According to the Register of Print Media, in Kherson there are over 200 registered newspapers and magazines. The ones that regularly publish and are popular are only Hryvnia, Vhoru (Up), Novyi Den (New Day) and Khersonskyi Vestnyk (Kherson Dispatcher), the latter of which unfortunately is almost done publishing. Dementii Belyi said that earlier in Kherson there were more newspapers, but now, since the newspaper business is so expensive, only those publications have stayed in business, because they are either very popular with readers or have received financing from state budgets. We will figure out who the founders of the popular Kherson newspapers are. One of the most popular and most expensive publications in Kherson is Hryvnia, which is part of the Hryvnia Media Holding. It includes not only the newspaper, but also its lighter version Subbotnyi Vipusk (Saturday Edition) and advertising publication Pryamo v Ruky (Right in Your Hands). The Hryvnia Media Holding also has the website “Hryvnia. New Format.” Its peculiarity is that it can only be read after you receive a subscription. The official founder of the Ukrainian-language version of the newspaper Hryvnia is private entrepreneur Guberniya, which was founded by Mykhailo Novytskyi. It is interesting that, according to the Register of Print Media, the Russian-language versions of the newspapers Hryvnia and “Hryvnia. Subbotnyi Vipusk” are registered under private entrepreneur Editorial Team of the Newspaper Hryvnia (32618748), whose founder was Anna Pastukh and chief editor was Oksana Doroshenko. The chief editor and ultimate beneficiary of the newspaper and press club Novyi Den is famous journalist Anatolii Zhupina. However, on the list of founders, there is his wife Liudmyla and three other journalists, Maya Ustynenko, Sofiya Serebryakova, and Anatolii Yaitskyi. “Anatolii Zhupina, until 2010, was a member of the Kherson Regional Council from the Party of Regions. After that, he tried to run for various councils many times, but was never elected,” said Dementii Belyi. What is different about Novyi Den is that it has its own network of journalists in the districts of the region, who regularly write articles about the issues in their towns. At a fairly independent position is the newspaper Vhoru. It is connected to many socially significant events in the region. The newspaper has the news website http://vgoru.org/ and Azhur (Agency for Investigative Journalism). The founders of Vhoru were the Kherson Regional Health and Charity Fund (the founders of which are Vhoru Supervising Editor Alla Tyutyunnyk, journalist Nataliya Bymbyrayte and Lyudmyla Zadorozhna) and NGO Ug (South) (the founders of which are Alla Tyutyunnyk, Olena Afanasyeva and Vhoru Chief Editor Leonid Bondarchuk). In turn, Bymbyrayte said that these media resources were created to promote democratic values and to enhance civil society in Kherson region. The very important role of the Kherson Regional Health and Charity Fund and Vhoru are especially important in distant districts of Kherson region where there is no independent media and the majority of people do not have access to the Internet. In addition, in many districts, Russian TV channels are on the air and separatist leaflets are being distributed. “The newspaper Vhoru is highly respected and trusted by both our supporters and opponents. Proof of that is the persistent attempts of unethical party leaders and representatives of the government to persuade the editorial team to publish paid materials. When Chief Editor Leonid Bondarchuk asked a party activist why it was so important to publish paid material specifically in Vhoru, the answer was, ‘Your newspaper is trusted 100% and other newspapers are not,’” said Nataliya. WEBSITES: In the informational sphere in Kherson, we found about 20 informational websites. The majority of them work as aggregators, which basically do not produce content themselves but only accumulate and repost news products from other websites. According to the editor of the informational agency Most (Bridge), Serhii Nikitenko, each businessman or council member in Kherson who respects themselves opens their own news website, first because it is cheap and does not require a lot of capital and second because there is no need to register it as an object of informational business activity. Unfortunately, a search through open resources to look for the owners of this website or others did not yield any results so we asked Kherson journalists who the websites belong to. In this way or another, we managed to find out the owners of the ten most popular Kherson Internet resources. Informational/entertainment portal Typychniy Kherson (Typical Kherson) (www.t.ks.ua) sprang up from the VKontakte social network; it contains mainly entertainment articles and targets a young audience. Khersonske Vesti (Kherson News) (http://www.visti.ks.ua) is probably the only website where you can find information about the editorial team and founders. The website was founded as an informational resource by the NGO Khersonske Vesti Newsroom Internet Publication. Its founders are Ihor and Iryna Trubaiev and the manager is Oleh Solomin. The founders and key people indicated for Khersonska Pravda (Kherson Truth) (http://pravda.ks.ua/) are the NGO Nova Media (New Media) Bloggers Association, the founders of which were son and father Taras Oleksandrovych Buzak and Oleksandr Oleksiyovych Buzak. Taras Buzak was a member of the Kherson District Council. During the recent elections, he ran for the Kherson City Council on the party list of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc; now he is an assistant to MP Andriy Hordiiev. The publication itself stands out for its independent position. The website Pivdenna Informatsiyna Kompaniya (Southern Informational Company) (PiK) (http://pik.ua) is directly connected to former governor Andrii Putylov. There is no information on the website about the editorial team or the founders, but according to the Register of Legal Entities, Pivdenna Informatsiyna Kampaniya, Ltd. was founded by Dmytro Emelyanov, who in 2011 was deputy general director of automation management of the enterprise and financing of Mekhanicheskii Zavod (Mechanical Plant), Ltd. The founder and beneficiary of Mekhanicheskii Zavod is ex-governor Andrii Putylov. According to information from Kherson journalists, Putylov started directly influencing this website about five years ago, after a complete change of the editorial team. The website Most (Bridge) (http://most.ks.ua/) is well-known for its independent position. It is managed by Serhii Nikitenko. On the website, it is openly stated that it was created with the support of National Endowment for Democracy and, according to information from Serhii, is financed by grant money. The newspaper and website Khersonske Fakti (Kherson Facts) (http://fakti.ks.ua) was founded by Visimka (Eight), Ltd., the founder of which was an Iryna Borychevych. However, Kherson journalists connect this media outlet to Vladyslav Manher, former candidate for mayor of Kherson from the Batkyvshchyna party. He is the director of Ekozerno (Eco-Grains), Ltd. and is the president of the Kherson Regional Federation of Boxing. In the past, he was the assistant to Volodymyr Saldo, an ex-mayor who later became an MP from the Party of Regions. The website Khersontsi (Kherson residents) (http://khersonci.com.ua/) was founded by public organization Khersontsi, the head of which is Olena Rotova. In 2002-2010, she was one of the leaders of the Party of Regions in Kherson region and three times she was the head of the election headquarters of the Party of Regions during election campaigns. According to information from Kherson journalists, Rotova recently sold this media outlet to Volodymyr Mostovyi. The website 0552 (www.0552.ua) is part of the CitySites network of city portals; its executive director is young businessman Evhenii Yavtushenko. According to Kherson journalists, there is now talk going on about the sale of this resource. The chief editor and founder of the website Khersonshchyna za Den (Kherson Region Today) (http://ksza.ks.ua/) is Tetyana Derhachova. According to information from Kherson journalists, this resource receives “sponsorship assistance” from Valerii Lytvyn and Serhii Pynkas. The resource Kherson-Online (http://khersonline.net/) is pretty popular as well. Its editor and founder is Svitozar Dorofiiev and Kherson.net (http://kherson.net.ua) editor Evheniya Popenko. Unfortunately, we did not manage to find out who is financing these projects or how. RADIO: According to the records of the National TV and Radio Council, there are six radio companies in Kherson: Lyubymoe Radio (Favorite Radio) (TV/Radio Company Bulava) was founded by Anatolii Ievtukhov and Larysa Tyutyunyk, who is also its director. Anatolii Ievtukhov today is the general director of Ukrainian media holding Business Radio Group (www.brg.ua), which includes the radio stations Shanson, Lyubymoe Radio, Business Radio, DJ FM and others. Avtoradio (Car Radio) (Radio-Avto, Ltd.) was founded by offshore Cyprus company Rainbowfield Ltd. and Radio Group, Ltd. (Kharkiv), which is part of the information agency Ukrainian Media Group, which was founded by United Media Holding N.V. (Amsterdam) and Kverty Biznes Inc. (Virgin Islands), but the ultimate beneficiary of these companies is Bradley Matthew Adrian from Belize. This same person is a beneficiary of radio stations such as RadioNext and Lounge FM. Radio-Rocks Ukraine was founded by Tekhnomedia-R, Ltd. and private entrepreneur Geramino ICM. Tekhnomedia-R, Ltd. was founded by Viktor Volosiuk, assistant to former MP Mykola Bahraiev. The founder of Geramino ICM is offshore Cyprus company Uberlik Investments Ltd. The director is Volodymyr Viktorovych Myronenko. At the same time, Oleksandr Viktorovych Myronenko (most likely, a brother) is the director and one of the founders of private company TV/Radio company Sofiya (Kherson FM). The second founder is a Evhenii Sidorenko. A person by this name is registered in Kherson as the head of the executive board of the charity fund Sofiya and head priest of the Holy Trinity Church. Radio ViK was founded by Serhii Kirichenko and Nataliya Chernova. The director of TV/Radio company ViK is Mykola Stavytskyi, who in 2015 ran for the Kherson Regional Council from Lyashko’s Radical Party. Now he is an assistant to MP Denys Silantev. Radio Aks was founded by Serhii Kishchenko and famous former MP from the Communist Party Kateryna Samoylyk, the latter of which is the ultimate beneficiary of Studio A, Ltd. (19239063), which is also among the founders of this radio company. Studio A, Ltd., besides Samoylyk, was founded by Anna Osolodkyna (general director of Aks and assistant to Kateryna Samoylyk in 2006-2012) and her husband Serhii Osolodkyn (creative director of Aks, chief editor of the newspaper Aktsenti (Accents) (a founder of Studio A, Ltd.), and member of the 5th convocation of the Kherson City Council. Unfortunately, we did not manage to find out the owners of all media outlets in Mykolaiv and Kherson. However, as seen in practice, open information about the registration of media outlets is demonstrated only by outlets whose owners have nothing to hide. Regardless of the recent law on “openness” and publication of information of the owners of TV/radio companies, they are not in a hurry to comply with that law. This material was prepared with the support of open data from the records of the National TV and Radio Council (www.nrada.gov.ua/ua/derzhavniyreestr/24208.html), Register of Print Media Outlets (www.dzmi.informjust.ua), Single Register of Legal Entities and Private Individuals/Entrepreneurs (https://usr.minjust.gov.ua), and the shareholder register SMIDA. Tetyana Haydabas, Olena Vasyna, infographics by Oleksandr Sidelov This investigation was conducted with the support of the project SCOOP and a Polish-Canadian program supporting democracy. From the authors: The article published earlier, “Owners of Media Outlets in Southern Ukraine: Who orders the informational ‘music’ in Mykolaiv and Kherson” included some factual inaccuracies, which is why it was taken down from the website. We apologize to our readers and are publishing the correct version. Source: http://nikcenter.org/newsItem/26027