Media Excellence Program trainings in Lviv: how 40 journalists exchanged experience and looked for common ground

Forty media professionals from 19 Ukrainian regional and niche media spent three days at Lviv Media Hub. They learned how to plan the work of the newsroom, find advertisers and make native advertising, as well as attract donor funds. We plan our training programs within the Media Excellence Program based on a detailed study of the needs of the media we work with, so that not a single minute of training is wasted.

“We have collected comprehensive information about the expectations and needs of all the newsrooms that have volunteered for the training. We chose the training topics requested by most of the newsrooms,” comments Daryna Yeleva, project manager.

Three trainers shared their experience and knowledge with the media: Kateryna Venzhyk, co-founder of the Meikanemo project and media manager; Yana Protsenko, native advertising specialist; and Ola Myrovych, head of the Lviv Media Forum. In particular, Kateryna told how media can research their competitors; Yana shared her experience of successfully finding advertisers. Ola offered step-by-step instructions on writing grant applications, building communication with donors, and running media projects, taking into account the findings of our research on the donor field for media in Ukraine. You will be able to read the most interesting and important parts of their trainings soon — the notes are being prepared by Rubryka.

Since 2024, the Lviv Media Forum has included the training component of its projects in its long-term support program, the Media Excellence Program. As part of this program, we offer individual and group consultations, trainings, and other educational opportunities to media professionals and editorial teams. This event is the first multi-day marathon of online trainings under the program.

“It was important for us to gather everyone for a training session in Lviv so that media representatives from different regions could meet and share experiences. Our program also includes online training. It saves time, but it does not give the effect of involvement in the community and the benefits that a person receives from live communication,” says Daryna Yeleva.

The participants included media professionals from Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Kyiv, Kolomyia, Zaporizhzhia, Cherkasy, and other cities. There is much in common in their work, but each region and each newsroom has its own peculiarities that encourage media professionals to come up with unique responses to common challenges. Sharing this experience is very valuable for those who want to learn and develop.

“We are not stopping there and are preparing new opportunities for journalists and editorial offices within the Media Excellence Program,” says Polina Zvizda, program manager. ”We receive many requests for personal and group consultations. So, we are moving in the right direction.” So Lviv Media Forum is working to offer new training opportunities to media professionals this fall.

Media Excellence Program became possible thanks to UNESCO, People of Japan and The International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), as well as the Fight for Facts project, implemented jointly with n-ost and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.