Ukrainian News Media Representations and Framing of the Third Sector

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Abstract

News media serves a vital public service role by bringing attention to issues that benefit society. One such issue is coverage of the third sector, which includes nonprofit and non-governmental organizations that provide services and advocate various causes. Media publicity plays a crucial role for nonprofits to meet their organizational goals, such as shaping public opinion and advocating causes (Akboga & Arik, 2019). However, limited research has explored media representations of the third sector, especially across cultural contexts outside of Western media (Cooley, 2020). This project helps fill this gap by examining how Ukrainian media portrays the third sector in its coverage, guided theoretically by the communication theories of agenda-setting and framing.

The Ukrainian third sector faces distinct challenges that provide rationale for this media analysis. It is described by scholars as “weak” with “low civic engagement” (Gatskova & Gatskov, 2016), operating in a political environment that is highly unstable and sometimes even antagonistic towards the third sector (Krasynska, 2015). Additionally, public trust in nonprofits is worryingly low (Krasynska, 2015). Moreover, recent war have brought over $1.7 billion in new international aid to Ukrainian nonprofits (Philanthropic Response to the War in Ukraine, n.d.), indicating a massive influx of resources requiring more oversight and public accountability. However, no known research has specifically analyzed Ukrainian media portrayals of nonprofits until now.

This project takes on a mixed methodological approach including a quantitative content analysis as well as a qualitative narrative analysis of news media articles that discuss nonprofit organizations in Ukrainian news media in the last three years.

It has several theoretical and practical implications. It aims to inform practical discussions among media professionals, nonprofit leaders, policymakers and scholars regarding strategies for strengthening the role, impacts and capacity building of Ukrainian civil society. Ultimately, by elucidating how Ukrainian news media frames nonprofits in its coverage, this project provides insights to support Ukraine’s third sector amidst its volatility and lack of public confidence.

In summary, this project applies communications theory to an understudied cultural context, helping fill gaps in research on media portrayals of the nonprofit sector. Its analysis aims to both build theoretical understanding and inform practical strategies for supporting Ukrainian civil society given the dependence of nonprofits on media publicity. The project has significance amidst the distinct challenges facing Ukraine’s third sector today.

References

Akboga, S., & Arik, E. (2019). The Ideological Convergence of Civil Society Organizations and Newspapers in Turkey. Voluntas. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-019-00144-1
Cooley, A. (2020). Russian news media as a public service actor: exploring the coverage of nonprofit organizations. Russian Journal of Communication, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/19409419.2020.1777189
Gatskova, K., & Gatskov, M. (2016). Third sector in Ukraine: Civic engagement before and after the “Euromaidan.” VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 27, 673–694.
Krasynska, S. (2015). Contra Spem Spero: The Third Sector’s Resilience in the Face of Political Turbulence and Legislative Change in Ukraine. Nonprofit Policy Forum, 6(2), 167–186. https://doi.org/doi:10.1515/npf-2014-0003
Philanthropic response to the war in Ukraine. (n.d.). Retrieved August 14, 2023, from https://topics.candid.org/issue-pages/ukraine/#tab-nav

Authors

• Asya Cooley, Oklahoma State University

• Shahariar Khan Nobel, Oklahoma State University