Whether it’s through the state media giant Russia Today, soft power campaigns or diplomatic backchannels, the Kremlin has implemented what some commentators have dubbed “the biggest information special operation” to date. As a result, many in Europe and beyond see the Russian annexation of Crimea as justified and believe that Moscow simply wants to protect the rights of Russian speakers (overlooking the fact that they enjoy greater freedom in Ukraine than in Russia), rather than trying to sabotage Ukraine’s westward turn.
It is thus with great pride that I look at the work done by the Kyiv Post: debunking the myths, correcting the misinformation, getting and reporting the facts as they are.
With over 35 million pageviews since the beginning of the year, it is clear that this work has been effective. According to the AGT Communications Agency, based in Moscow, Kyiv Post is the second-most quoted news organization from Ukraine and Russia in Western media, narrowly behind the behemoth Kommersant Russia and far ahead of its Ukrainian peers!
More importantly, though, the Kyiv Post has done so without compromising on integrity and honest reporting. For 19 years now the paper has called things the way it sees them, in times good and bad. This dedication has been recognized far beyond Ukraine’s borders: last month the Kyiv Post became the first Ukrainian media outlet to win the prestigious University of Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service to Journalism, joining the likes of Gazeta Wyborcza, Le Figaro and the Wall Street Journal.
Yet the information battle remains highly uneven. The $13 million budget of Voice of America’s Russia Service pales compared to the $300 million that Russia Today is estimated to spend. For independent publications the disproportion is far more glaring.
There have been numerous calls to ramp up funding for various Western government media, whether it’s the BBC’s World Service or Voice of America. These ideas have some merit when it comes to a global audience but carry big risks, particularly on the local level.
Firstly, this line of thought leads to an incorrect framing of the problem: to win against government-sponsored propaganda you don’t like the only solution is to shout government-sponsored news you support louder. Moreover, though it may provide a quick fix, inundating the airwaves and sponging up top media talent will hamper the growth of independent publications.
If Ukraine’s media are to seize the window of opportunity presented by the current transformation, it is critical to change the system, not just the sources of funding. Most of Ukraine’s top independent publications, including the Kyiv Post, have been assisted by Western grants to keep operating through the revolution and war and maintain a high level of coverage amid extraordinary circumstances.
But there’s a difference between lending a helping hand and creating dependency. There will come a time when international interest in Ukraine will wane, and media outlets subsisting solely on grants will face a difficult choice: close up shop or return to the old ways of offering up their integrity to the highest bidder. The risk is that instead of actually building free media, donors do the heavy lifting of building organizations that will either disappear or be co-opted by politicians or oligarchs.
By setting up the Media Development Foundation, several Kyiv Post journalists are hoping to tackle the problem of low standards and know-how in Ukrainian journalism, through such programs as helping investigative journalists reach the masses and produce impact, and providing trainings on such diverse issues as media ethics or deciphering financial data. Regional publications are of particular interest: there is more room for improvement and they’re outside the Kyiv bubble.
A lot of worthy work is being done around the country, yet a more consistent strategy is needed – one focused on giving fishing rods, not fish. This may include such programs as credit subsidies, management courses, or technological support – big expenses that can give promising groups the means to spread their message and build sustainable models.
Though the world’s hearts and minds are essential, for Ukraine the biggest challenge is to use that immense social transformation to build a new country, not just to change the faces at the top. For that external help is critical, but it must be used smartly. After all, a great big spear and shield may have helped David for a while, but what he really needed was a slingshot.
Kyiv Post CEO Jakub Parusinski can be reached at [email protected]
