The honorary title was established by the
Supreme Soviet of the
Ukrainian SSR on May 7, 1981. By that time, four
republics of the former USSR (the
Estonian SSR, the
Lithuanian SSR, the
Georgian SSR, and the
Armenian SSR) had already established such an award, whereas the
Russian SSR hadn't done so until the
dissolution of the Soviet Union. From its inception in 1981, the title required a recipient to have worked in the field of journalism for at least ten years. Originally, a recipient also had to be a member of the "Union of Journalists" of the Ukrainian SSR. After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991,
Merited Journalist of Ukraine was one of 29 honorary titles that newly independent
Ukraine inherited from the Ukrainian SSR. Since July 1994, the recipients of the title also receive a
silver badge. The first design of the badge, awarded from July 1994 to June 2001, was a image of a woman's head, wearing a
wreath composed of
ears of wheat. In June 2001, the silver badge was redesigned to its present form and enlarged to ; in 2007, the badge was further enlarged to its present size. == Prerequisites and procedure ==