On February 17th, Professor Marta Dyczok of the University of Western Ontario delivered the 20th annual Mohyla Lecture, titled What’s Changed? The Evolution of Ukraine’s Media Since Independence. Author of Ukraine’s Euromaidan: Broadcasting through Information Wars (with Hromadske Radio – 2016), Dr. Dyczok is a specialist on political developments in the post-Soviet space, with special interest in the media.
Prof. Dyczok spoke of the evolving nature of the media landscape in Ukraine, drawing attention to the impact of globalization and the continuing influence of Russia on both the telecommunications and digital platforms. She emphasized the important role of public broadcasting and the politics around the creation of Hromadkse Radio and Hromadske TV. Noting the recent transformation of Ukraine’s state media into a public broadcaster, Prof. Dyczok suggested this was a possible ‘game-changer’ in as much as it might allow for greater accountability and transparency – an important consideration in the context of the hybrid Russo-Ukrainian conflict (which extends to the information sphere) and the wider efforts at democratization.
2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the Mohyla Lecture Series. Created at St. Thomas More, it is the premier academic event devoted to Ukrainian Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. This year’s event was co-sponsored by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Saskatchewan Provincial Council. The event was organized and hosted by the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage.
