Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (Wikipedia Commons)

In Kiev, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk confirmed his commitment to the rapid launch of a genuine public service broadcaster based on a merger of the EBU’s two Ukrainian Members – National Television of Ukraine (NTU) and National Radio Company of Ukraine (NRCU).

“Ukraine is in a state of real war,” he said, addressing a Canada-sponsored conference organized by the EBU, the Council of Europe and NTU on the transition from state broadcasting to public service media.  “In such times we need to hear truthful and correct information.”

The conference follows adoption by Ukraine’s parliament in April of a law bringing together NTU, NRCU, a state culture channel and 25 regional broadcasters.

“We have a huge need to establish public service media in Ukraine,” the prime minister added.  “ ...The government is ready to start implementing this law without delay, and we are going to take all the steps to keep the momentum.”

There has been criticism that launch of the Public Service Broadcasters of Ukraine (PSBU) is being delayed because of gaps and flaws in the new law, confusion over the legal form of the new entity, and by complications in electing the governing body which must appoint the director general.

The prime minister said PSBU should be “a public  joint stock company”, and Larysa Mudrak, deputy head of the National TV and Radio Council of Ukraine, said she hoped  the new entity could come into being on 1 January 2015.

EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre addressed the conference on the role, remit and core values of  public  service media, which she said should serve minorities as well as majorities and become the “campfire” of a nation. “The most important currency of a public service broadcaster is trust,” she added.

Ms Deltenre also made a separate presentation on the various funding models of public service media in Europe.

EBU Media Director Annika Nyberg described how the EBU’s Finnish Member, YLE, serves Finland’s Swedish-speaking minority as an example of how PSBU might serve Ukraine’s Russian-speaking population and help unite the country (which is currently riven by pro-Russian separatists).