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Journey to the Borderland

April 30

Posted by Lindsey Whissel on 05/01 at 06:35 AM

Last full day in Cherkassy

Today was our first professional visit. First, I met with the the director of public information for the city and learned about media outlets in Cherkassy. There are eight TV channels in the region. The PI office publishes a monthly magazine about the going-son of the city and they’ve also published several books on “lost” history—history that was almost completely destroyed during the Soviet era.

From the PI office, we headed to the office of Нова  ДoБа  (“New Day”), a regional newspaper. It’s a holiday here, so many people were out, but I did get a tour.

After that, I was able to visit the TV Ross station in Cherkassy.  The station is about 20-25 years old. They have two studios (small and large). Most of their programming is locally produced, though the do receive some programs from a national network. It was a bit difficult to get technical information because of the translation challenges, but my understanding is that they have five Panasonic cameras in the main studio and broadcast in SD.

I received surprise at the studio- I was interviewed (thank you to my “host sister” Dasha for serving as my translator) for a program that aired across the region this evening (video link coming soon). It was fun, though I was very nervous knowing I was serving as a representative for my country.Of course, at the end of the show when the host asked me to say a few words in Ukrainian, my mind went totally blank and all I could come up with was “hello,” “how are you,” and “thank you.” On the way out the door, I got to take a picture with a celebrity— Чебурашка (Cheburashka)—I was told he’s the Ukrainian equivalent of Sponge Bob.

Our team regrouped after our vocational visits and we met with the mayor of Cherkassy. I was able to ask him questions about how his office works with the local media. He told me he does a 40-minute call-in program every Friday and gives a press conference each week. He is also using Facebook to change the way his office responds to municipal issues.

We were also able to visit a children’s tuberculosis sanatorium that Rotary sponsors. It was very moving to see the sign on the new wing acknowledging American Rotary’s role in the construction of a new building.

We ended the day with a picnic in the woods and what I’m assuming was our final set of toasts with our new friends in Cherkassy.

Word of the day: перекладач (per-ehk-la-datch)- interpreter.