This essay examines the generative effects of claiming moral failure within a Ukrainian liberal movement for media reform in post-Maidan, pre-invasion Ukraine. The reformers wished to reorganize news reporting around the ideals of autonomy, balanced objectivity, impartiality, and corrigibility, which they believed underpinned Western media. They decried most Ukrainian media as failing such standards, highlighting the individual moral failure of journalists bankrolled by oligarchs in return for favourable media representation. In turn, those from whom the reformers tried to distinguish themselves morally mocked them as ‘grant-eaters’ for their dependence on Western democracy promotion grants. This tussle pitted material success against yearnings for moral and professional probity. Developing Selka's idea of moral distinction, I argue that while the reformers’ pursuit of virtuous difference was sincere, their structural vulnerability vis-à-vis the mainstream media also made morality more salient as the basis for agonistic differentiation.

中文翻译：

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乌克兰思想市场的失败和道德差异

本文探讨了在独立广场后、入侵前的乌克兰媒体改革自由运动中声称道德失败的生成效应。改革者希望围绕自主、平衡的客观性、公正性和可纠正性的理想重组新闻报道，他们认为这些是西方媒体的基础。他们谴责大多数乌克兰媒体不符合此类标准，强调了寡头资助的记者在个人道德上的失败，以换取有利的媒体代表。反过来，那些改革者试图与他们区分开来的人在道德上嘲笑他们是“食金者”，因为他们依赖西方的民主促进拨款。这场斗争使物质上的成功与对道德和职业正直的渴望形成鲜明对比。发展塞尔卡的道德区分观念，