The Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s English-language newspaper and proud winner of the 2014 Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism.
The newspaper’s first print edition came out on Oct. 18, 1995, and went online in 1997. Its global audience has been growing steadily since then, peaking at more than 65 million pageviews in 2014.
The newspaper’s motto is “Ukraine’s Global Voice,” which in 2018 replaced the previous motto of “Independence. Community. Trust.” Both slogans reflect the newspaper’s commitment to the highest journalistic and ethical standards.
The Kyiv Post has had three owners in its existence: American Jed Sunden, who owned the newspaper from its inception in 1995 until 2009; United Kingdom’s Mohammad Zahoor, who owned the paper from 2009 until March 21, 2018, when he sold to Syrian native Adnan Kivan, an Odesa-based businessman who owns the KADORR Group. Read Kyiv Post, profile of Kivan here.
Is the Kyiv Post a non-profit or a for-profit organization?
The Kyiv Post is a rarity on the Ukrainian media scene. It is a for-profit organization that is not owned by an oligarch and it covers most of its expenses through commercial activities — advertising, subscriptions and events. It is operated as a private business by BusinessGroup, LLC., and owned since 2018 by Ukrainian citizen Adnan Kivan, a businessman based in Odesa, Ukraine who owns the KADORR Group. In 2018, the Kyiv Post established a non-profit organization, the Free Press Foundation, to seek grants for journalism.
How is the Kyiv Post funded?
The majority of the newspaper’s revenue comes from advertising and events. The Kyiv Post journalists also seek grants for editorial projects. Donors who sponsored content produced by the Kyiv Post journalists included: the National Endowment for Democracy, Justice for Journalists Foundation, Reporters Without Borders, the Danish government, NATO, and others.
Our standards and ethics
- The Kyiv Post will seek to provide reasonable accounts of competing views in any controversy so as to enable readers to make up their own minds.
- While conducting reporting for a story, the Kyiv Post reporters will properly identify themselves. Under special circumstances, such as an undercover investigation, a reporter may work unidentified, by agreement with an editor, if it is believed that in this way he or she may obtain information that is of high importance to the society.
- Reporters should advise their editors in advance where possible if they do not plan to identify themselves and after the fact if not. Reporters must consult their editors if there is doubt about the legitimacy of any proposed news-gathering tactic.
- All facts used in stories, videos, or other journalistic materials must be clearly attributed to their original source.
- Sources quoted in the stories must be identified using their full name. Under special circumstances, when a source has reasonable fears for his or her safety, their name may be omitted. The reason for the lack of identification must be clearly stated in the story.
- Anonymous sources are to be avoided. In special circumstances, information from an anonymous source can be used if it is of high value to society and can be independently verified through other sources.
- Falsifying a fact or a quote by a journalist is grounds for dismissal.
- Any form of plagiarism is grounds for dismissal.
- In dealing with people who are emotionally vulnerable and unaccustomed to talking to reporters, the Kyiv Post will take care to respect their dignity.
Corrections and complaints
We are committed to quality, fairness, and accuracy in our coverage. The Kyiv Post welcomes complaints about errors that warrant correction. We strive for a culture of accuracy and expect any staff member who finds an error in our published work to report it to an editor. All significant factual errors should be corrected in stories, graphics, headlines, captions, photographs, and other elements that appear in print or online. Complaints, disagreements over interpretation, and other matters arising should be addressed to the editor. Messages on news coverage can be e-mailed to [email protected].
Nonpartisanship policy
- The Kyiv Post shall at no time pass into the hands of any interest, group, oligarch, or politician.
- The integrity, independence, and freedom from bias shall at all times be fully preserved.
- The Kyiv Post provides fair and reliable news to its readers and subscribers.
- The Kyiv Post shall in no way favor any political party in its coverage.
- The Kyiv Post shall always strive to present all sides of the story and let each side have a voice in it.
Diversity policy
We are committed to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion to maintain a fair, unbiased work environment, and to enhance our ability to effectively serve the public as a media organization.
Diversity at the Kyiv Post encompasses our differences, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, socio-economic status, physical ability, national and geographic origin, marital status, and veteran status.
Discrimination by any of these attributes goes against the Kyiv Post’s values. Discrimination has no place in our work environment and in our coverage.
Whistleblower policy
Kyiv Post is committed to the highest ethical standards. We honor this commitment by conducting our business with maximum integrity and full compliance with all applicable laws and bylaws. In keeping with this commitment, Kyiv Post provides a possibility for employees, subscribers, readers, and other stakeholders to raise any concerns they may have and to be assured that in making complaints they will be protected from reprisal or victimization for raising concerns in good faith.
A whistleblower is any past or present Kyiv Post team member, reader or subscriber who makes a complaint of a reportable activity in accordance with this policy.
A complaint might include a report of:
- Fraud or deliberate error in the reporting
- Accounting, audit, or other financial fraud or misrepresentation
- Misrepresentation or false statements made by the Kyiv Post
- Deviation from full and fair reporting
- Any type of fraud or theft.
Kyiv Post will not permit any past or present team member to harass, retaliate, or discriminate against any person who in good faith reported any suspicious activity. Retaliation in any form will not be tolerated.
