What the United News Marathon and Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel broadcast looked like on March 31 – April 1, 2026 — summary

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Coverage of the week’s main topics; representation of parliamentary factions and groups in guest studios; instances of political PR, as well as Russian narratives and toxic media figures in the telethon; and violations of the core standards of information journalism—in brief.

The “United News” telethon was launched on February 24, 2022. Detector Media began monitoring it on March 21 of the same year using this methodology. In January this year, Detector Media refined and expanded this methodology in response to comments and suggestions from the editorial teams participating in the telethon. The author of the monitoring is Ihor Kulyas, a media trainer and the creator of Detector Media’s core monitoring methodology. 

From March 2022 to September 2024, the monitoring focused on recording and analyzing broadcast schedules of different channels, the main content produced by editorial teams (reports, live feeds, studio discussions), violations of journalism standards, instances of political PR, representation of parliamentary factions and groups, Russian narratives and toxic media figures, and topics ignored by the telethon.

On May 21, 2024, Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel left the telethon and began independent 24/7 broadcasting. This change is not fundamental for monitoring purposes. The work of Suspilne’s news editorial team continues to be evaluated as before, using the same methodology as before the telethon. 

Since October 2024, the monitoring format has changed. It now focuses on analyzing coverage of major socially significant topics in the telethon and — for comparison — on Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel. It tracks how key daily and weekly topics are covered, representation of MPs from different factions, instances of political PR, and the presence of toxic media figures and Russian narratives.

Summaries of monitoring reports are available here, and the full versions of reports are available here.

On March 31 – April 1, the heaviest fighting took place in the Pokrovsk, Kostiantynivka, and Huliaipole directions. In the United News telethon, editorial teams collectively devoted the most attention to the Pokrovsk and Huliaipole directions, while giving little coverage to Kostiantynivka. In the broadcasts of Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel during the reporting days, overall attention to the front line was limited, with the most focus on the Sloviansk direction. The two active directions — Kostiantynivka and Huliaipole — were barely mentioned.

During the reporting days, the worst consequences of enemy air attacks against civilians occurred in Poltava, in the Zolotonosha district of the Cherkasy region, and in Nikopol. All of these events were promptly and comprehensively covered through live reports by the broadcaster’s own correspondents on Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel. In the telethon, the editorial teams limited themselves to brief verbal updates or short voice-over reports.

In terms of foreign policy, the key topics during the reporting period included the war in Iran, statements by Marco Rubio and Donald Trump on revising U.S. relations with NATO and a possible U.S. withdrawal, as well as Russia’s new ultimatum regarding the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas and Trump’s positive stance on it. Expert discussions of these topics on Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel were traditionally more detailed and of higher quality than those in the telethon.

Most domestic political developments were not mentioned in the telethon but were covered by Pershyi Channel. Only the 1+1 channel mentioned the large-scale malfunction of the “Reserve+” system within the telethon. The exposure by the State Bureau of Investigation of large-scale thefts of UAVs from the “Army of Drones” program was covered to a similar extent by both the telethon and Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel.

During the reporting days, the telethon featured the highest number of serious violations of the standards of accuracy and separation of facts from opinions. There were also instances of violations of the timeliness standard. In the broadcasts of Pershyi Channel, the most frequent violations concerned the separation of facts from opinions and the completeness of information.

Throughout the week of March 30 – April 5, the “MP guest studios” of the telethon featured exclusively representatives of the ruling “Servant of the People” faction. Opposition representatives were not invited to the telethon. In contrast, Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel maintained a balanced representation of both ruling and opposition factions in its discussion studios during the same week.

Over the two analyzed days, there were four instances of political PR in the telethon, most of them on the ICTV and STB channels. Pershyi Channel recorded two instances of political PR.

SITUATION ACROSS DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE FRONT:

During the reporting days, the highest number of combat engagements again occurred in the Pokrovsk direction (56 and 31 clashes per day, respectively). The intensity of fighting was also high in the Kostiantynivka (20 and 17 clashes) and Huliaipole (17 and 20) directions. On April 1, 12 clashes took place in the Kupiansk direction. In all other sectors of the front, the number of clashes did not exceed seven per day. On April 1, in the Sloviansk direction, Ukrainian forces repelled the largest enemy mechanized assault since the beginning of the year.

In the United News telethon, the channels collectively devoted the most attention to the Pokrovsk direction (three reports were produced from there, and the situation was discussed with three guests). The Kupiansk and Oleksandrivka directions were each discussed four times, while two field reports were produced from the Huliaipole direction, and it was discussed with two guests. Among the most active frontline areas, the Kostiantynivka direction received little attention.

The most active coverage of the front line during these days came from the editorial teams of the 1+1 channel and ICTV, together with STB. Most often, the situation at the front was discussed with frontline soldiers (eight times), five times with spokespersons of various Defense Forces units, and three times with military experts. War correspondents of 1+1 produced four report segments during these days, while ICTV and STB aired two frontline reports and one live broadcast.

In the broadcasts of Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel during the reporting days, the greatest attention was paid to the Sloviansk direction (a frontline report was produced and the situation was discussed with three guests), while the Pokrovsk direction was discussed with three guests. Other highly active directions — Kostiantynivka and Huliaipole — received no coverage at all. Overall, for several weeks in a row, the channel has devoted less attention to the frontline in its guest studios. Most often, frontline issues were discussed with spokespersons of various Defense Forces units (seven times), five times with frontline soldiers, and only two experts were invited during the reporting period. One frontline report was produced.

CONSEQUENCES OF ENEMY SHELLING AND BOMBARDMENT OF CIVILIAN OBJECTS:

During the reporting days, the most severe consequences of enemy air attacks on civilians were as follows: on the night of March 31, one person was killed and four were injured in Poltava after debris from an enemy drone fell on a residential building; on April 1, four people were killed in the Cherkasy region as a result of a drone explosion; on the same day, ten people were injured in Nikopol due to enemy drone and artillery attacks; also that day, six people were injured in Poltava as a result of a drone strike. All these events were promptly and comprehensively covered through live reports by Pershyi Channel correspondents. In the telethon, editorial teams limited themselves to brief verbal updates or short news items.

UKRAINE’S FOREIGN POLICY AND GLOBAL POLITICS:

In foreign policy coverage during the reporting days, the key issues remained the continuation of the war in Iran and the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz. Developments in this topic included statements by Marco Rubio on revising U.S. relations with NATO and by Donald Trump on a possible U.S. withdrawal from the Alliance. Expert discussion of these issues was traditionally more detailed and of higher quality on Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel. In the telethon, most participants relied on a minimal circle of “regular” experts, and, in my view, the possibility of a U.S. withdrawal from NATO was generally underestimated, resulting in a lack of high-quality expert discussion.

Within the ongoing topic of “peace negotiations,” the key developments were statements voiced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding Russia’s demands for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from Donbas within two months, and that Donald Trump also does not see another way to stop the war. In this topic as well, expert discussion was significantly stronger on Pershyi Channel. In the telethon, most editorial teams discussed the issue with only a few experts—their regular guests (this is, in general, a typical feature of the telethon: a limited pool of experts on military and political topics).

DOMESTIC POLITICS:

Some domestic political developments were not mentioned in the telethon but were covered by Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel. These included, in particular, a statement by Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on ways to address the issue of unauthorized abandonment of military units, a student protest at Kyiv National University against the rector, and accusations by Defense Ministry advisor Serhii Sternenko that the “Skelia” regiment was conducting futile assaults with heavy losses.

Only the 1+1 channel mentioned the large-scale malfunction of the “Reserve+” system within the telethon. The exposure by the State Bureau of Investigation of large-scale thefts of UAVs from the “Army of Drones” program was covered to a similar extent by both the telethon and Pershyi Channel.

Telethon:

In the broadcasts of the 1+1 channel, the majority of serious violations of the accuracy (credibility) standard involved information taken from the internet without verification. Many facts were also presented without any reference to sources. All serious violations of the accuracy standard consisted of mismatches between visuals and text in news items. The largest number of serious violations of the separation of facts from opinions standard were purely emotional judgments by journalists in news reporting. There were also numerous unauthorized commentaries by guest studio hosts. All serious violations of the completeness standard involved insufficient presentation of experts’ credentials. The most frequent serious violations of the accessibility standard were the use of abbreviations and terms not understood by a significant part of the audience. There were also serious violations of the timeliness standard.

In the broadcasts of ICTV and STB, the most frequent serious violations of the accuracy (credibility) standard were generalized, vague pseudo-references to sources of factual information. There were also many abstract pseudo-references, and numerous facts were presented without citing sources. All serious violations of the accuracy standard were mismatches between visuals and text in news items. Almost all serious violations of the separation of facts from opinions standard were emotional judgments by journalists in news reporting.

In the broadcasts of the Inter channel, the most frequent serious violations of the accuracy (credibility) standard were generalized, vague pseudo-references to sources of factual information. Most serious violations of the accuracy standard consisted of mismatches between visuals and text in news items and overview segments. All serious violations of the separation of facts from opinions standard were emotional judgments by journalists in news reporting and in news elements within guest studio segments.

In the broadcasts of the We Are Ukraine channel, the most frequent serious violations of the accuracy (credibility) standard involved presenting unverified information from the internet. All serious violations of the accuracy standard were mismatches between visuals and text in news items and overview segments. The largest number of serious violations of the separation of facts from opinions standard were subjective judgments by journalists in news reporting. There were also many emotional evaluations by journalists in the news. Most serious violations of the completeness standard involved the absence of natural sound (inter-sound) in video materials. There were also numerous insufficient presentations of experts’ credentials. The most frequent serious violations of the accessibility standard were the use of words not understood by part of the audience. There was also a serious violation of the timeliness standard.

Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel

The most frequent serious violations of the accuracy (credibility) standard were generalized, vague pseudo-references to sources of factual information. The largest number of serious violations of the accuracy standard consisted of mismatches between visuals and text in news items and overview segments. The most common serious violations of the separation of facts from opinions standard were emotional judgments by journalists in news reporting. The main serious violations of the completeness standard involved insufficient presentation of experts’ credentials.

Members of Parliament in the telethon:

Members of Parliament were invited to the telethon 9 times during the reporting week (in the previous week, 14 MPs had been invited). All 9 were representatives of the ruling faction, Servant of the People (100% of the “MP” studio appearances). No representatives of the three opposition factions appeared on the telethon broadcasts this week.

This week, the Office of the President was represented in the telethon twice by presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak (in total, he had 32 minutes of airtime on ICTV with STB and We Are Ukraine). Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra had 25 minutes on Inter (in the “Newsmaker” segment, which was also repeated during the night broadcast), and the President’s Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk spent 10 minutes on air on We Are Ukraine. In total, the Office of the President had 1 hour and 7 minutes of airtime on the telethon.

Members of Parliament on Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel:

During this week, MPs were invited to the public broadcaster’s air less frequently than usual—26 times (in the previous week, MPs had been invited 41 times). Representatives of the ruling faction, Servant of the People, were invited to the channel 14 times, while representatives of the parliamentary opposition appeared 10 times in total (5 times representatives of European Solidarity, 4 representatives of Batkivshchyna, and once a representative of Holos).

In addition to representatives of the factions, one discussion studio featured an MP from the parliamentary group For the Future (Serhii Rudyk), and the talk show New Countdown also hosted an unaffiliated MP (Maryana Bezuhla).

In most discussion studios, the representation of the ruling and opposition factions of parliament was balanced (only once was the opponent of a Servant of the People representative a member of the For the Future group). In addition, on March 30, “to comment on these draft laws (three separate tax bills submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers), we asked Danylo Hetmantsev, a Member of Parliament from the Servant of the People faction and Chair of the Committee on Finance, Taxation, and Customs Policy. He refused to comment on these draft laws for Suspilne; however, we do have other MPs on air..."

And on April 3, Serhii Kozyr from Servant of the People was invited to the studio to discuss the Cabinet of Ministers’ overspending of the reserve fund together with Mykola Kniazhytskyi from European Solidarity, but he was unable to join. Therefore, the hosts announced representatives of the faction for the next broadcast on the same topic; later, Yevheniia Kravchuk from Servant of the People appeared.

4. Manifestations of Political PR in the Telethon, March 31 — April 1

During the two analyzed days, there were 4 manifestations of political PR in the telethon: 3 of them on the broadcasts of ICTV and STB channels, and one more on the air of the 1+1 channel. There were no cases of negative PR.

On Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel, there were 2 manifestations of political PR.

5. Russian Narratives and Toxic Media Figures in the Telethon, March 31 — April 1

No Russian propaganda narratives or toxic media figures appeared in the broadcasts of the telethon or on Pershyi Channel during the reporting days.