The analysis of 13 regions in western and central Ukraine showed that 46 out of 61 administrative districts are informationally unhealthy or only partially healthy. In Chernivtsi and Zakarpattia regions, not a single healthy district was found. At the same time, journalism in Western and Central Ukraine receives less donor support. This may increase the tendency for informationally unhealthy regions and, as a result, “news deserts.” This is evidenced by the analysis of the Media Development Foundation, following a survey of editorial offices in western and central Ukraine, as well as key findings of a series of recent studies by the organization. Some data on “news deserts” in the Central and Western regions have not yet been published.
According to the 2023-2024 study, local journalism in Western and Central Ukraine receives less financial support than in the frontline areas. In particular, we are talking about eight western regions (Volyn, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, and Chernivtsi) and five central regions (Vinnytsia, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, and Dnipro). These regions can be called rear regions because of their relative distance from the front line.
The “rear” regions had fewer opportunities to receive development assistance than other regions.
The study showed that as of the end of 2023, foreign aid in the form of grants accounted for 45% of the revenues of local newsrooms in Western Ukraine and 50% in Central Ukraine. In contrast, in other parts of Ukraine, the share of donor funding in declared revenues was much higher: 73% for regional media in Northern Ukraine, 87% for local reactions in the South, and 93% for Eastern Ukrainian media.
Underfunding of media in western and central Ukraine reinforces the trend of “news deserts”. Against the backdrop of the trend toward the decline of information unhealthy regions and, as a result, the emergence of “news deserts,” fewer opportunities for development may negatively affect the development of media in the country. In such circumstances, directing financial assistance to the most vulnerable regions can be a crucial factor in preserving the information health of local communities.
The recommendations of the MDF policy brief emphasize the importance of creating additional or separate assistance programs in the form of grants and emergency funding for information vulnerable and/or underfunded regions. They also emphasized the importance of creating long-term programs to support the institutional capacity of local newsrooms that make a significant contribution to the information health of their communities and entire regions.
As a reminder, in 2024, MDF published the first part of a study of “news deserts” in Ukraine. It analyzed 11 frontline, de-occupied and temporarily occupied regions. In these regions, 879 editorial offices were found. Out of 68 analyzed regions, only 27 are healthy. The emergence of “news deserts” can harm the country’s democratic development. In places where local media are closed (or do not exist at all), the community is measurably worse off.
This research was created and maintained with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Media Development Foundation and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
