Most covert political advertising in September about Azarov and Tihipko

According to the monitoring carried out by the Institute for Mass Information, 11% of the material in the printed press was political “dzhynsa” [commissioned material presented as “news”].  IMI says that the amount of such material in the six national newspapers regularly monitored reached new peaks. 184 items of a political nature out of 1721 were found to have signs of having been commissioned.  For the fourth month in a row most commissioned material was in favour of the government.

The breakdown given with the percentage being the amount of material covertly advertising those named:

39%                government

21%                single-mandate electoral district candidates

9%                  the Communist Party (who are at present also part of the ruling majority – translator)

9%                  Ukraina Vpered (Natalya Korolevska’s party)

7%                  the United Opposition

4%                  UDAR [Klichko’s party]

11%                others

IMI believes that the amount of such material has reached saturation point and is unlikely to rise further before the elections.  In Komsomolskaya Pravda in Ukraine, for example, over the last two months 20% of all material has constituted such covert political advertising.

From those in power, it is Prime Minister Azarov and Serhiy Tihipko are most often presented in a positive light.

Breakdown in the object of such covert advertising

29%                Serhiy Tihipko (Deputy Prime Minister)

24%                Azarov / Yanukovych

12%                Yury Boiko

10%                Party of the Regions

7%                  Anatoly Prysyazhnyuk

4%                  Oleksandr Vylkul

14%                others