The Ukrainian Fourth Estate

By Walter Kish

It was back in the Eighteenth Century that the Irish-born British statesman and politician Edmund Burke is first reputed to have coined the phrase “The Fourth Estate” in reference to the press.  This was an addition to the so-called three estates (or fundamental components of society) first identified during the French Revolution as being the Nobility, the Clergy and the Commoners.  Even then, the power and influence of the press in defining a democratic and free society was well recognized. 

Today, the rights and freedoms of the press are well enshrined in both the U.S. American and Canadian constitutions and few would question the importance of having a healthy and independent media sector to keep an eye on the various power brokers that determine how our modern societies function.  In addition, the media serve a vital function in not only informing us about what we need to know but also in shaping our values and our opinions. 

Within the Ukrainian communities of both the U.S. and Canada, the media also play an additional important role in maintaining a sense of self-identity and providing a means for these communities to exert their influence on both the local environment within which they operate, as well as on the political and economic evolution of their original homeland.

Despite this important role, the Ukrainian media in North America is facing some serious challenges to its future existence.  Many of the established forms such as traditional newspapers are facing extinction as the Internet and other new electronic media take over the hearts and souls of the younger technically savvy generations.  It is obvious that the younger generations are becoming almost totally dependent on the Internet and related electronic media as the only source of satisfying their informational, communications and entertainment needs.

 Aside from the negative ecological implications of cutting down trees to provide for a physical paper, the cost of printing and distributing such publications is becoming financially prohibitive.

The print media is not the only form affected, however.  Those involved in Ukrainian radio or TV broadcasting are also facing serious issues as the cost of air-time increase exponentially, while the standard broadcasting channels become fragmented by the explosion of cable and satellite outlets.  But even these tradition broadcasting options are under threat to rapidly evolving Internet based alternatives such as You Tube, Facebook, blogs and various portals.

It is within this context that representatives of most of the major Ukrainian media outlets in North America met at “Soyuzivka” Resort in the Catskill Mountains of New York State the weekend of May 15-17 to discuss these and other challenges that are making their future existence somewhat problematic.  The Canadian delegation included journalists and delegates from this paper as well as Meest, both Svitohliad and Kontakt television programs, the Ukrainian program from Radio Canada International, the radio program Prometheus, and the journal Nasha Doroha.  The U.S. was well represented with delegates from the newspapers Svoboda, The Ukrainian Weekly, America, The Sower, Natsionalna Tribuna and Nashe Zhytya. The Internet sector was represented by Maydan.org and Infoukes.com. There were also a number of freelance journalists and writers active within the Ukrainian media of both countries.

Over two days, comprehensive discussions were held on a broad spectrum of topics ranging from the problem of standards for Ukrainian language usage, to how to deal with the fourth wave of immigrants, to the various ethical problems in dealing with controversial issues of the day.  Although it was obvious that the solutions to many of these issues will not be arrived at quickly or easily, everyone was in agreement that it was vital that we tackle these problems jointly and collaboratively rather than dealing with them individually.  Everyone left with a strong commitment to join forces in tackling these challenges.  We are hopeful that the Ukrainian communities in the U.S. and Canada will see the results of this in the years to come.