DOVER — A Ukrainian delegation visiting the United States to learn about local, county and state government visited Foster’s Daily Democrat Thursday for a discussion about the news media.

Foster’s Editor Scott Wasser explained freedom of the press, watchdog journalism and objective reporting to the six-person delegation.

He also answered questions about the types of stories reporters cover and how they approach each story.

“They report what happened and they ask people who were there what they thought about what happened,” Wasser said when explaining how reporters cover public meetings. “They report facts.”

That’s not always the case in Ukraine.

Speaking through an interpreter, the visitors said Ukrainian reporters routinely inject opinion into their news stories, making it difficult to know for sure what happened.

Different publications routinely draw far different conclusions about the same event.

Although there are laws in Ukraine that protect reporters and the media, many newspapers there are operated by the government.

These papers are well read, and people pay for subscriptions.

Asked whether these newspapers are credible, the group had mixed opinions, according to interpreter Natasha Klimova, who lives in Maine.

Many Ukrainians believe what they read in these papers, which could be a holdover from Soviet times, the group said. Aside from printing potentially slanted news, the official papers can be used to quell rumors and address other issues.

Other interesting tidbits about Ukrainian newspapers: Readers tend to start from the back page,where the obituaries are printed.

Advertising space on these pages tends to be the priciest.

Classified ads are booming in the Ukraine in part because people over 40 typically aren’t as technologically savvy.

The group’s visit was sanctioned through the U.S. government’s Open World program created two decades ago to attract young leaders from foreign countries.

The program aims to expose visitors to American democracy and customs.

Friendship Force International coordinated this visit.

Jim Verschueren of Dover directs the group’s Seacoast chapter. He also is a state representative.

The Ukrainians arrived last Friday and stayed with local families throughout the week.

They visited city, county and state governments during their stay. They also went swimming at Odiorne Point State Park and shopped at local stores.

The group said they learned a lot about local government that could be useful back home.

Vitaliy Lukov, mayor of Voznesensk, a city about Dover’s size roughly 75 miles from the Black Sea, said through the interpreter that he would look into forming partnerships with the Rotary Club and the local business community.

Others said they would look for ways to improve public participation.

The group seemed to really enjoy New Hampshire. They thought people were friendly and that Dover and surrounding towns were extremely safe.

They also marveled that residents don’t always lock their doors.