MediaFit Ukraine: "We were the only Ukrainian media left in the occupied territory"

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Eastern Variant (Luhansk)

"We stayed alive, managed to evacuate the whole team and employ two new journalists from Mariupol who lost their jobs. We fundraised for the team reallocation and were not afraid of the challenges we came across. We now feel strong enough to share with others our experience and expertise in broadcasting in occupied territories, digital security, social media strategies and storytelling."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Kramatorsk Post (Kramatorsk)

"Despite all the horrors that the war brought to our country, surprisingly 2022 was one of the most productive years in our history. Although there was a huge drop in our Ukrainian audience due to the regular blackouts, we are growing through our social media channels. An important project that we’re developing is an information hub for the Kramatorsk residents remaining in the front-line city."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Chas Chernihivsky (Chernihiv)

"Despite the difficulties, we are the only private media outlet in the region that not only survived, but also used the disastrous situation to develop. Over the past year, our audience has grown from 2-3.000 per day to 15-40.000. We are the only online media in the region that can produce 2-3 high-quality video stories and broadcasts per day."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Bilyaivka (Odesa region)

"We have significantly grown our audience and developed our profile with the content we produce: explanatory journalism, constructive journalism, human-interest stories, game formats, historical texts, events. We survived this terrible year, saved our media outlet and maintained sources of income. Thank you for MediaFit support. And we hope that we will continue to collaborate."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Intent.Press (Odesa)

"Since the invasion, we have upgraded our company’s branding and editorial line. Apart from that, we have developed a new communication strategy which will help us reach out to our target audiences, which now cover not only Odesa, but Mykolaiv and Kherson regions as well. Over the past year, the site was visited by over 1 million users and we have been able to keep the whole team."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Cucr (Sumy)

"We were forced to turn our outlet from slow media into a high-functioning newsroom, which can provide and distribute information during wartime. We’ve started to produce podcasts on a regular basis and even launched a themed podcast. We also published a military special issue magazine in January."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Vgoru (Kherson)

"The biggest challenge for us last year was to keep the team alive and physically and psychologically healthy. And we succeeded. During the past year, we regularly created photo stories from occupied and, later, liberated Kherson. We shared these photos with all-Ukrainian and foreign media, thus many people throughout Ukraine and the world learned about the situation in the city."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Vchasno (Donetsk)

"In 2022, we managed to save our team and workplaces and were able to evacuate part of the editorial office yet provide conditions to keep working. Thanks to this, the site did not go down even for a day. Our audience has increased dramatically and we introduced a new Telegram channel. Due to MediaFit support, we were able to develop a new website, the old one suffered from Russian DDOS attacks."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Realnaya Gazeta (Luhansk)

"Thanks to MediaFit support, we developed a sustainability plan for the newsroom and were successful in sticking to it. Our YouTube channel audience has quadrupled in a year due to new formats – explainers and digests. We’ve completely upgraded our website and developed the Ukrainian language page to increase our audience in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv and Zaporizhzhia."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Primorka.City (Berdyansk)

"In 2022, the editorial office had two goals: to survive and acquire full independence (we were part of another project), and we've started our path to independence. We also launched “Free News," an organization bringing together mass media and protection of journalists’ rights. Despite the ban of our media in Russian-occupied Berdyansk, we have been able to maintain our audience."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Lyuk Media (Kharkiv)

"We’ve received two special offers from international organizations because of our strength in telling human stories. We’re also developing a series of eight products about cultural colonization and city marking (toponymy and names of the streets and theaters). And we’ve developed our strategies, including content direction."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Pershyi Kryvorizkyi (Kryvyi Rih)

"Through MediaFit, we’ve formed a media development strategy and analyzed our strengths and – more importantly – our weaknesses. We were able to launch the Ukrainian language version of our website and our newsroom can now work autonomously during blackouts. We’ve provided the team with protective gear, allowing them to work in the de-occupied territories to tell residents' stories."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Mykolaiv Centre for Investigative Journalism (Mykolaiv)

"It was a very difficult year and it is hard to remember something positive. In 2022, we set only one goal: To survive. Our city is one of the most affected cities in Ukraine. Yet there is something positive: We have new and increased support from donor organizations. In addition, there was growth on our social networks and we established a successful TikTok account to reach younger audiences."

MediaFit: Keeping media viable in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion

Nakypilo (Kharkiv)

"In October 2022, our online radio and its website were relaunched, reaching approx. 2,600 unique listeners per month. In December, we launched an FM radio station. We also fully opened a press center and formed a team, while a new educational center is currently in development and is preparing new projects to support other journalists from the region."

Author: Yulia Alekseeva