Abstract
On the example of Ukraine during the Yanukovich presidency (2010–2014) this article explores which factors support journalists’ agency in relation to censorship pressure in a competitive authoritarian regime. It shows that a critical mass of journalists existed who reacted to censorship pressure with rejection. Based, first of all, on 31 semi-structured interviews, we examine the working conditions of prominent national journalists and analyse how they describe their role and motivations. We argue that the nature of competitive authoritarianism offers journalists opportunities for critical reporting, but that it is individual characteristics of journalists—including professional ethics, networks, and job mobility—which define whether and how the respective opportunities are used.
Highlights
Discussions of media control in non‐democratic regimes often focus on the macro perspective, investigat‐ ing ways of media control, like ownership or legal reg‐ ulation of media
The case study demonstrates that a critical mass of journalists existed under competitive authoritarianism in Ukraine who rejected censorship pressure
It can be stated that the dispersed control over media assets that is typical for competitive authoritar‐ ian regimes, and which in the case of Ukraine is exer‐ cised by oligarchs, is an important element of what could be described as opportunities for critical journal‐ ism
Summary
Discussions of media control in non‐democratic regimes often focus on the macro perspective, investigat‐ ing ways of media control, like ownership or legal reg‐ ulation of media. That is why we are interested in which conditions fos‐ ter the agency of journalists when faced with political pressure in a competitive authoritarian regime. Business people take over major mass media as part of their deals with ruling political elites; in this case, censorship pres‐ sure is exerted by media owners: a phenomenon which has been described as “media capture” Later some moved on to found the independent TV channel Espreso.tv Another prominent case was Forbes Ukraine, which had con‐ ducted an intensive investigation into state procurement systematically favouring companies allegedly close to president Yanukovich. The conditions under which journalists in Ukraine worked were characterized by pressures on their reporting levied upon them by the political environment, including most prominently oligarchs
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
