OSCE media representative's office ends Ukrainian series of seminars aiming to improve governmental reporting

ODESA, 28 July 2006 - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, today addressed press secretaries and journalists participating in a two-day training seminar aiming to improve reporting on governmental issues.

The training session in Odesa, held in co-operation with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the Independent Association of Television and Radio Broadcasters, completed a series of seminars for governmental press secretaries and for journalists in Ukraine. About 150 participants attended seminars in Sevastopil, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Odesa.

"I hope the seminars have been a step toward an improved relationship between media and the authorities, bringing the country closer to a situation where state authorities respect the independence of pluralistic media and co-operate with it," Haraszti said when opening the Odesa seminar. "This would grant the media the freedom necessary for developing the highest professional standards."

In 2005, the OSCE Representative's office started conducting a series of training sessions to strengthen and professionalise relations between state press officers and the media in Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan. The project will soon continue in other OSCE participating States.