The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine’s English-language media outlet, was created by journalists after The Kyiv Post went silent on 08 November 2021.
Photo: The Kyiv Independent Masthead
04 March 2022 | James Porteous | Clipper Media News
About The Kyiv Independent
The Kyiv Independent is Ukraine’s English-language media outlet, created by journalists who were fired from the Kyiv Post for defending editorial independence.
The Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s global voice, went silent on Nov. 8, 2021, days after celebrating the 26th year of its uninterrupted run.
The publication was shut down by the owner in his attempt to take full control of the newsroom that has always followed the principle of editorial independence.
Yet, the editorial team of the independent Kyiv Post refused to be silenced. If we couldn’t save the Kyiv Post brand, we could save its values.
On Nov. 11, 2021, over 30 ex-Kyiv Post employees decided to continue the Kyiv Post’s legacy by launching a new publication – the Kyiv Independent.
The following values will serve as the backbone of the Kyiv Independent:
- The new publication will serve its readers and community, and nobody else.
- The Kyiv Independent won’t be dependent on a rich owner or an oligarch. The publication will depend on fundraising from readers and donors and later on, commercial activities.
- The newsroom will decide and execute the publication’s editorial policy in the community’s best interests. Attempts to influence it from outside will not be tolerated.
- The Kyiv Independent will always be at least partly owned by its journalists.
- The Kyiv Independent will strive to reach financial sustainability to preserve its independence in the future.
The team unanimously chose Olga Rudenko, former deputy chief editor at the Kyiv Post, who dedicated 10 years to the brand, to lead the new publication as editor-in-chief.
The Kyiv Independent is still in the making. The website you see is our first, temporary platform.
As we embark on this new project, we vow to serve as the true, independent voice of Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent provides fair and reliable news on a variety of topics. From Russia’s war against Ukraine and disinformation campaigns to the ongoing pandemic and medical procurement, from human rights in occupied Donbas and Crimea to reforms in Kyiv, nothing will escape the view of the Kyiv Independent.
But we can only do it together with you. Join us today and become a part of Ukraine’s fight for a better future with the Kyiv Independent.
Kyiv Post’s Former Staffers Band Together to Save its Values
15 November 2021| DAVID KLEIN | OCCRP
After the temporary shut down and gutting of Ukraine’s English-language weekly newspaper, its former staffers are hoping to start a new outlet that will have the editorial independence the Kyiv Post had.
The move comes after the Post’s current owner, Odessa-based construction tycoon Adnan Kivan, shut down the paper and fired its entire staff in one day, saying he was planning to relaunch it as a Ukrainian-language newspaper. The paper’s staff saw this as an “attempt to infringe on our editorial independence.”
“Tensions between the newsroom and the owner increased in mid-October, when Mr. Kivan unilaterally decided to launch a Ukrainian version of the Kyiv Post, headed up by his appointee,” the statement said. The staffers said that “Mr. Kivan did not inform the newsroom of his plans – we found out through a public Facebook post.”
The staffers were worried that the Ukrainian publication would leverage the Posts brand, built as a symbol of independent journalism over 25 years, to publish stories meant to serve Kivan’s own interests.
The team suggested to Kivan that he sell the paper, but he refused. Kivan has in turn offered them the opportunity to return to the newsroom under his newly appointed leadership, but they too have refused.
“The team has decided to decline this offer, as we consider it impossible to work with an owner who seeks to interfere in editorial decisions,” the statement said.
The Kyiv Post has operated independently across Ukraine since 1995, and was bought by Kivan in 2018. At the time, he reportedly said “I highly value the work of Kyiv Post journalists and intend to preserve editorial independence.”
