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Olha Kulish |
Ukrainian Broadcast Journalist Studies Management of Media Companies
Olha Kulish, deputy general director of Volyn State TV and Radio Company, Lutsk, Ukraine, began a three-month visit to the University of Georgia in March to gain expertise in TV and radio network management.
Kulish's main goal is to learn how to create and manage television and radio networks. She will use this new expertise to assist in the construction of a national television and radio network for Ukraine.
"The creation of such a network will allow Ukrainian state TV and radio companies that operate on limited budgets to equally compete with private channels," Kulish said. "The development of such a unifying network will also paint a complete portrait of Ukrainian life for the audiences, for it will capture different aspects of various regions of the country."
Kulish's three-month stay at the University of Georgia was organized by the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research, a unit of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Kulish is visiting the University as a fellow supported by the Freedom Support Act (FSA) Contemporary Issues Fellowship Program, sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, US Department of Affairs. The Contemporary Issues Fellowship Program is operated by the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX) in Washington. The fellowship is offered in an effort to support media diversity and independent journalism in emerging democracies in Eastern Europe.
Kulish said the creation of a Ukrainian television and radio network will allow the rest of the world to get more information about Ukraine as a whole, as opposed to the few areas that are commonly presented in tourism guides or promotional films.
In order to achieve this goal, Kulish will use several U.S. media facilities as models for this network. She will visit and observe the CNN media center and will also have the opportunity to attend the Broadcast Education Association's 48th Annual Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas.
Additionally, Kulish is also sitting in on Dr. C. Ann Hollifield's graduate Telecommunication Management class and meeting with other faculty in the Telecommunication Department and the Journalism Department of the Grady College.
"It is a real pleasure to work with Olha," Cox Center Assistant Director Dr. Vlad said. "She knows exactly what she wants to accomplish and is willing to invest a lot of time and energy in learning. The Cox Center has conducted several workshops in Ukraine and Olha's visit could be the beginning of a new partnership."
Prior to assuming her current postion at Volyn State TV and Radio Company in Lutsk, Kulish served as editor-in-chief of the company. She began her career with the company as an engineer in 1984 and has studied in the Canadian School of Business in Lutsk and the Intitute of Higher Qualification for TV and Radio Staff in Kyiv. She earned her undergraduate degree from the Kyiv Politechnic Institute.
Kulish's stay at the University of Georgia will end on May 15th, after which she will pursue an internship in Washington, D.C.
While in the Cox Center, Kulish will be able to share ideas with three other visitors, two from Eastern Europe and one from China. The visitors from Eastern Europe, Elvina Mustafaieva from Ukraine and Shushanik Navasardian from Armenia, are supported by the Edmund S. Muskie/Freedom Support Act Fellowship Program, administered by American Councils for International Education and funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. Broadcast journalist Yuanxin Dai from China Yunnan Television is visiting the Cox Center with support from the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education.
