“The war has not only brought destruction and human loss to Ukraine, but has also altered the landscape of visibility. Entire communities can disappear from the information space not because nothing is happening there, but because journalists physically cannot get there. This is exactly how information deserts arise. And our task as a public broadcaster is to ensure that people do not remain invisible. Because silence during war can also be dangerous,” said Alla Skoryk. 

She explained how the idea to create a network of Suspilne Ukraine correspondents in local communities first came about.

“The hyperlocal Suspilne Ukraine network, which began as a pilot project in 2021, posed a question: what if the residents of remote communities could tell their own stories? We began looking not for professional reporters, but for people who know their communities, are willing to learn how to work with information, and can show the reality around them. Our correspondents include teachers, librarians, medical professionals, and rescue workers. They do not replace the editorial team-they become its eyes in places where film crews cannot reach,” noted the director of the regional content department at Suspilne Ukraine.

Also, during the presentation “Overcoming Information Deserts: Building a Hyperlocal Network of Journalists in Ukraine,” Alla Skoryk shared how Suspilne Ukraine works with regional teams, how it trains them and ensures the quality and verification of information, and what security challenges it faces, particularly in regions near the front lines and in areas affected by the Russian occupation. 

The experience of Suspilne Ukraine shows that hyperlocal journalism during wartime enables people to share stories about their own communities, document changes in the lives of their regions, and maintain connections between people.

As a reminder, Alla Skoryk has over 20 years of experience in journalism, including as a reporter and editor-in-chief at Suspilne Chernihiv. She is currently responsible for the content produced by Suspilne’s local teams across Ukraine.

This year’s Circom Regional Television Media Conference was part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Finnish public broadcaster Yle and brought together regional and public media professionals from various European countries to discuss the challenges and future of local journalism. Conference sessions focused on the role of public media in uniting communities, fostering audience engagement, and finding new approaches to work in the face of rapid change. Participants discussed local journalism, digital and editorial transformation, as well as media engagement with communities.

Suspilne Ukraine is an independent media company with a strong presence across all platforms: the TV channels Pershyi, Suspilne Kultura, Suspilne Sport, and a national network of local channels; the radio stations Ukrainske Radio, Radio Promin, Radio Kultura, Radiotochka. Find only verified news on suspilne.media, as well as on our national and local digital platforms. We broadcast in minority languages, represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest, develop the children’s platform Brobaks, and train media professionals through the Public Media Academy. Our Suspilne Mediateka platform offers unique video and audio archives dating from the 1920s to today. Defending freedom in Ukraine.