Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, believes that 2024 will decide the fate of the United News telethon, as this format is rapidly losing public confidence.
He spoke about this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Yurchyshyn says that we will have to think about ending the telethon if it does not change its format by the end of 2024. According to the MP, there should be balance in the news, not a frontal brow, and then the level of trust should be restored.
The MP claims that the marathon could have been broadcast until the end of the war. However, this year, the amount of international financial assistance is decreasing, and therefore, there are fewer funds in the state budget. Accordingly, it would be better to spend them on the most appropriate expenditures – shells for the Armed Forces, including Patriot reloading.
In addition, Yurchyshyn is convinced that the government is suffering reputational losses due to the public distrust of the telethon. The “United News” is considered an official source, a government mouthpiece. According to a study by the Kyiv Institute of Sociology, the level of distrust in the marathon was 12% in May 2023. In February of this year, the figure rose to 47%.
However, the government has already allocated funding for Yedynyi Novyny for 2024, so the broadcast will continue until December for sure. “Unless the channels themselves decide that it’s enough,” says the MP.