After a dispute last month between me and the Kyiv Post’s editor went public – too public for my tastes – life is back to relative calm at the newspaper and between me and the staff. I now hope that prosperity will follow this calm, so I am taking this opportunity to clear up misconceptions in the public about my plans for the Kyiv Post going into the future.
First of all, I have loved the Kyiv Post as a reader since its beginning in 1995. So naturally, when I got the chance to buy it in 2009, I gladly seized the opportunity. I regard the newspaper that I own as an important community service. It was never designed to make money, but it shouldn’t be losing it either.
Anything can happen, and a businessman never buys something that he is not willing to sell. But I have no current plans to part with the Kyiv Post and I am not entertaining offers.
I did offer the management to buy out the newspaper on a confidential basis, knowing that today only they can guarantee that the newspaper will remain independent and also knowing that it is not easy to raise money for a loss-making newspaper, unless there are hidden political motives behind such a deal.
My offer in this regard was meant as a personal challenge to the newspaper’s staff to do better. Now I know that anything you say to a roomful of journalists is not confidential!
I want the business to improve its performance in all areas, including editorial and advertising.
I believe the Kyiv Post plays an important role as a beacon of independent journalism and that will never change under my ownership.
Our trust among readers is high and we will keep it that way, despite any political pressures that might arise, although to date we have not been bothered.
I also believe the Kyiv Post can – and must — regain its historic profitability. I believe it will happen if the correct steps are taken by the various components of the newspaper – administration, editorial, advertising, marketing and distribution.
There have been a lot of comments about the Kyiv Post in the press lately, so let me try to explain the direction of the business.
I purchased the newspaper from its founder, American Jed Sunden, in 2009. While the previous owner did a great job creating the paper and building its sterling reputation in the community, I took over a business that was suffering from the economic crisis and badly in need of investment.
In the last two years, I have invested more than I paid for the newspaper, some $1.4 million. This money went into expanding the staff, improving the newsprint quality and distribution and expanding the page count of the print edition from 16 to 32 on most weeks.
We also undertook many new promotional events that cost us money but were good for the community.
I have personally sponsored numerous events, such as cricket tournaments, Pakistan Day and other gatherings that were close to my heart. For the larger Kyiv community, the Kyiv Post regularly donates space in print and on the website to help raise money for victims of natural disasters, such as the earthquakes in Pakistan and Japan.
We also publish a Community Bulletin Board as a way for members of the community to become acquainted with each other and help others in need.
Moreover, we have strengthened our Kyiv Post traditions – such as our annual Best of Kyiv awards and our employment fairs. We have, as well, started new projects – such as last year’s Most Influential Expats awards. Now we are gearing up for the Euro 2012 football championships that Ukraine will co-host.
These activities will continue because they strengthen the bonds that unite all of us.
But my biggest financial investment to date has been in the Ukrainian/Russian-language version of the Kyiv Post website. We expanded because we want a mass audience, not just the small audience of English-language readers. We believe that our brand of journalism, with an international team that includes some of the best in the business, will prove popular with Ukrainians.
To become a top-rated online source for news in Russian and Ukrainian is no easy task. We are happy with aspects of our progress, and have room to improve in others.
I can see now that this will take more time than we expected to build an audience on what we call our UA website. But I still believe it will happen, not automatically, but if everyone at the newspaper does their jobs properly.
Mine is to provide investment and direction. Editorial’s job is to make sure the journalism is fair and top-notch. Advertising’s role is to sell, sell, sell … and so on.
I don’t know what the future will hold. But whether I keep or ultimately sell the Kyiv Post, rest assured that it will remain in good hands with an owner who takes very seriously our motto of “Independence. Community. Trust.”
When I bought the Kyiv Post, I said its best days are ahead. Despite our recent setbacks, I still believe that and I hope that you do too.
Mohammad Zahoor is the owner of the Kyiv Post, part of his ISTIL Group of companies.
