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Kyiv Post

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Kyiv Post
Type of site
News
Available inEnglish
HeadquartersKyiv, Ukraine
OwnerRuslan Kivan, operating as Businessgroup LLC
EditorBohdan Nahaylo, Chief Editor
CEOLuc Chénier
URLwww.kyivpost.com Edit this at Wikidata
CommercialYes
RegistrationNot required
LaunchedOctober 18, 1995; 29 years ago (1995-10-18)[1][2]
Current statusActive
ISSN1563-6429

The Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden.[3]

In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, founder of KADORR Group.[4]

On November 11, 2021, Luc Chénier returned to Kyiv Post as its CEO to rebuild, with his first hire being Bohdan Nahaylo as its Chief Editor. Within two months, Kyiv Post had doubled its readership, with a clear emphasis on being Ukraine's global voice and by focusing on the USA, Canadian, UK, and European Union markets. By year 3, Kyiv Post had 97% of its readership outside Ukraine, with an combined websites and social media viewership of more than 6 million viewers per month. In October 2023, Kyiv Post was the first news organisations in Ukraine to be given a 100% content transparency and accuracy rating for journalism standards according to global rating platform News Guard (others with a perfect 100% included The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal).[5]

Following the passing of Adnan Kivan in 2024, ownership of the newspaper passed to his son, Ruslan Kivan, who continues to develop the media project while maintaining its editorial independence and expanding its international presence.   The newspaper’s CEO is Luc Chénier, and the Chief Editor is Bohdan Nahaylo.

The Kyiv Post headquarters is located at 68 Zhylianska Street, Kyiv.

History

[edit]

American Jed Sunden founded the Kyiv Post weekly newspaper on 18 October 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings.[2] The newspaper, which went online in 1997, serves Ukrainian and expatriate readers with a general interest mix of political, business and entertainment coverage.

Historically, the editorial policy has supported democracy, Western integration and free markets for Ukraine. It has published numerous investigative stories, including coverage of the 2000 murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze, in which ex-Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma is a prime suspect; the 2004 Orange Revolution, in which a massive public uprising blocked Viktor Yanukovych from taking power as president after the rigged presidential election of 26 November 2004; the 2013–14 EuroMaidan Revolution that overthrew Yanukovych as president; the Russian invasion of Crimea; the war in the Donbas region; and Oligarch Watch.[6]

On 8 November 2021, the paper's website published a statement by owner Adnan Kivan announcing the temporary halt in operations of the newspaper claiming "One day, we hope to reopen the newspaper bigger and better." Reporters at the Kyiv Post replied in a joint statement that the sudden closure came on the heels of Kivan's attempt to "infringe" on their editorial independence.[7] Some of these reporters founded a new English-language publication named The Kyiv Independent, which is funded by donations and published its first newsletter on 26 November 2021,[8] and its website on December 2.[9][10] Kivan later stated he intended to make the newspaper more advertisement-friendly.[11]

On 11 November 2021, Luc Chénier, whose background is in advertisement, was appointed as new CEO on the Kyiv Post.[12][11] On 24 December 2021, Bohdan Nahaylo was appointed as new editor and the paper resumed publication.[13]

In 2024 Following the passing of Adnan Kivan, ownership of the newspaper passed to his son, Ruslan Kivan, who continues to develop the media project while maintaining its editorial independence and expanding its international presence as Ukraine’s true global voice.

Ownership history

[edit]
Kyiv Post current logo since 2022

The Kyiv Post has only had three owners in its existence: Jed Sunden, an American; Mohammad Zahoor, a British businessman of Pakistani origin; and Adnan Kivan, a native of Syria.[14] In October 2024, Adnan Kivan died, and his son, Ruslan Kivan, took over as the publisher of Kyiv Post as well as Kadorr Group.

Sunden's KP Media sold the newspaper to British citizen Zahoor on July 28, 2009.[15][16] Zahoor owns the ISTIL Group and is a former steel mill owner in Donetsk.[17] Zahoor published the newspaper through his Public Media company. In an interview with the Kyiv Post published on August 6, 2009, Zahoor pledged to revive the newspaper and adhere to its tradition of editorial independence.[18]

On 21 March 2018, Odesa-based businessman Adnan Kivan,[14] a Syrian native and Ukrainian citizen, purchased the Kyiv Post from Zahoor for a selling price both said was more than $3.5 million. Kivan pledged editorial independence of journalists in an interview [19][20] with Kyiv Post former Chief Editor Brian Bonner.[21] The newspaper is operated by his Businessgroup LLC. Kivan owns the KADORR Group of companies that specializes in construction and agriculture. His wife, Olga, and three children participate in his business. He used to be active in metals trading in the Black Sea port city from 1991-2007. In October 2024, Adnan Kivan suddenly passed away leaving the company to his son Ruslan Kivan to take over as CEO of Kyiv Post and Kadorr Group.

Sunden created the newspaper in the early years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, starting with $8,000 in capital, three computers and a staff of seven people working from a small flat in Kyiv. The first 16-page issue was put out by an editorial staff of two people. Sunden built the newspaper into a profitable enterprise, one that served the needs of the expatriate community that then regarded Ukraine as a potential hotspot for investment. During Sunden's tenure, he held to libertarian and anti-Communist views on the editorial and opinion pages, but established the business model of editorial independence on the news pages. He said the policy is good for business and news. Sunden was controversial for allowing paid "massage" advertisements from women engaging in ‘escort’ services.

After Zahoor bought the newspaper, he retained the entire editorial team. One of his first acts as publisher, however, was to eliminate the paid "massage" advertisements, saying he didn't want to own a newspaper that promoted ‘escort’ services. Zahoor sustained the policy of editorial independence, with limited exceptions. After the newspaper's editors endorsed Yulia Tymoshenko over Viktor Yanukovych for president in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election, the publisher issued a policy to forbid editorial endorsements of any political candidate or political party, saying the newspaper should remain non-partisan even on its opinion pages. Zahoor relaxed the policy during the May 25, 2014 presidential election, when he and his wife, singer-actress Kamaliya, came out publicly in strong support of billionaire Ukrainian businessman Petro Poroshenko's election as president. While the newspaper was free to endorse any candidate for the election, its editorial board made no endorsement in the contest that Poroshenko easily won.

Zahoor's purchase and significant investment improved a newspaper that had been badly battered by the global recession of 2008-2009, a sharp downturn that struck the Kyiv Post particularly hard in October–November 2008. The Kyiv Post lost advertising and cut costs, but still ended the year in the black, the last profitable year of its existence. In the last months under Sunden in 2009, the newspaper's editorial staff shrunk to 12 members, its page count to 16 and its print distribution to 6,000 copies.

Zahoor invested in journalists, increased distribution and improved newsprint. He boosted the page count—to 32 pages through much of 2010–2011, dropping back to 24 pages again through much of 2012-2013 and then to 16 or 24 pages since then. However, despite the investments, the Kyiv Post never regained consistent profitability, despite further staff and cost cuts, as print advertising continued to shrink, especially in the once all-important sector of employment advertising. However, combined with Zahoor's subsidies, the newspaper has been able to minimize financial losses through special publications, such as the Legal Quarterly, Real Estate and Doing Business supplements, as well as special events, including the annual Tiger Conference[22] and others. The start of an affiliated nongovernmental organization, the Media Development Foundation,[23] also raises money for independent journalism.

Kivan's first six months as owner have also seen renewed investment as the Kyiv Post hired three new foreign correspondents - Iryna Somer in Brussels,[24] Askold Krushelnycky, a former chief editor of the Kyiv Post, in Washington, D.C.; and Olena Goncharova in Edmonton, Canada. Somer left her Brussels position at the end of 2018.

In 2024, following the passing of Adnan Kivan, ownership of the newspaper passed to his son, Ruslan Kivan, who continues to develop the media project while maintaining its editorial independence and expanding its international presence.

EuroMaidan Revolution and war in the Donbas

[edit]

In 2013, the Kyiv Post covered what became known as the Euromaidan, which began on November 21, 2013, triggered by then-President Viktor Yanukovych's broken promise to sign a political and economic association agreement with the European Union. The Kyiv Post published hundreds of stories in print and online about the revolution, which ended in Yanukovych fleeing to Russia on February 21–22, 2014. The first Kyiv Post story about the revolution was published on November 22, 2013.[25]

After Yanukovych and many members of his government took up exile in Russia, the Kyiv Post covered the formation of an interim Ukrainian government, the Russian annexation of Crimea on February 27, 2014, the start of the war in the Donbas in April 2014 and the May 25, 2014, election of Petro Poroshenko as independent Ukraine's fifth president after Yanukovych (2010–2014), Viktor Yushchenko (2005–2010), Leonid Kuchma (1994–2005) and Leonid Kravchuk (1991–1994).

Website, paywall and social media

[edit]

The Kyiv Post launched its website in 1997 under Sunden. Currently, the website is updated seven days a week, approximately 10 hours a day, and includes Kyiv Post exclusive content, news and photos from wire services and aggregated articles from other news sources about Ukraine.

The Kyiv Post launched an online paywall in March 2013. The erection of the paywall became financially necessary because of the decline in print advertising in the newspaper industry generally, including at the Kyiv Post.[26] During times of intense national crisis, such as the Euromaidan Revolution and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Kyiv Post has relaxed its paywall and made its coverage available freely for a limited amount of time. The website currently provides many categories of stories for free, including its aggregated content, its opinions and editorials and its multimedia offerings, including video, cartoons and photo galleries.

In October 2014, the Kyiv Post started a Reform Watch project to track the progress under President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in eliminating corruption and bureaucratic obstacles to democratic progress and economic growth.

In November 2021 the online paywall was removed to allow more democatic access to all readers around the world and to help elevate its viewership at such a critical time in Ukraine’s history. This strategic move by Luc Chenier, CEO of Kyiv Post would help increase Kyiv Post’s digital revenue by focusing on western audiences where markets such as the USA generally pay more for views on a programmatic platform.

In June 2022 the Ukrainian version of the site was launched.

In December 2022, Kyiv Post launched a completely redesigned website.

Threats to existence

[edit]

The Kyiv Post withstood numerous threats to its existence from 1995. According to audiotapes released by Mykola Melnychenko, bodyguard to ex-President Leonid Kuchma, then-tax inspector Mykola Azarov talked about conducting tax audits of the newspaper and other news outlets that criticized the administration. Azarov went on to become prime minister under President Viktor Yanukovych. He has since fled abroad and is now on Ukraine's wanted list on suspicion of massive corruption.

The Kyiv Post faced and overcame three distinct political threats to its survival during the administration of President Viktor Yanukovcyh (February 27, 2010 – February 22, 2014).

  • The first came when Ukrainian billionaire oligarch Dmytro Firtash filed a libel lawsuit against the Kyiv Post in the United Kingdom over a July 2, 2010, story about corruption in the gas trade industry.[27] One December 14, 2010, the Kyiv Post began blocking all internet traffic from the United Kingdom (UK) as a protest against English defamation law[28] and the Firtash libel lawsuit in the United Kingdom. The case was dismissed on February 24, 2011 because the UK court believed Firtash had no major connection with the country[29] and the UK block was dropped later that year.[30]
  • The second threat came in the form of at least two offers to buy the newspaper from businessmen close to Yanukovych. Zahoor refused both offers, citing his desire to keep the newspaper editorially independent.

However, the biggest threat may be economic, not political. Many Central and Eastern European English-language newspapers, including The Moscow Times, The Prague Post and The Sofia Echo, have ceased their print publications in light of falling advertising demand and changing readership patterns online. America media analyst Ken Doctor chronicled the Kyiv Post's challenges in an April 17, 2014, article.[31]

The Kyiv Post also was featured in the September/October 2014 edition of the Columbia Journalism Review. Under the headline, the "Kyiv Post's unlikely success" author Oliver Bullough writes that:

The more you learn about the Kyiv Post, the more you realize how remarkable it is that it holds its own against these [other media] behemoths. Its newsroom budget is less than $25,000 a month. It has but 19 editorial staff; it has faced repeated attacks from regime-allied oligarchs. The fact its reporting survives at all, let alone flourishes, comes down to the unlikeliest of pairings: a journalist from Minnesota and an Anglo-Pakistani billionaire. Each has his own reasons for loving Ukraine, and the Post brought them together.[32]

Temporary shut down and breakaway The Kyiv Independent

[edit]

On 8 November 2021, the newspaper was temporarily shut down after the editorial staff's disagreement with planned changes to the outlet led to the owner firing all reporters,[7][33] many of whom then joined the newly-founded Kyiv Independent. On 11 November, Luc Chénier was announced as the new CEO of Kyiv Post.[34][35][11]

On December 8, 2021, Kyiv Post resumed its digital operations and publication following a 1-month pause.

Content

[edit]

Investigative journalism and non-profit Media Development Foundation

[edit]

The Kyiv Post is also a center for investigative journalism. Bonner, besides serving as chief editor, was also the regional coordinator of the Objective Investigative Journalism Project, funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 2013-2017 along with Olga Rudenko, the Kyiv Post's deputy chief editor since Oct. 6, 2017. Stories were published at various news outlets. Ex-Kyiv Post staff writer Vlad Lavrov, meanwhile, is the regional coordinator for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, whose donors include the U.S. Agency for International Development.

A group of Kyiv Post journalists in 2013 launched the Media Development Foundation, a nongovernmental organization that has raised $865,000 in the last five years to support independent journalism in three ways:

  1. Investigative journalism
  2. Student journalism internship exchanges
  3. Training programs for experienced professionals.

The Kyiv Post was one of the media outlets that participated in the 2016 Panama Papers investigation.

Kyiv Post employees also launched a second nongovernmental organization, the Free Press Foundation, to support independent journalism projects.[citation needed]

Chief editors and CEOs

[edit]

The Kyiv Post has had 15 chief editors since its first edition on October 18, 1995. They include Andrea Faiad, Igor Greenwald, Askold Krushelnycky, Tom Warner, Greg Bloom, Diana Elliott, Scott Lewis, Paul Miazga, Andrey Slivka, Roman Olearchyk, John Marone, Stephan Ladanaj, Zenon Zawada and Jakub Parusinski.

The longest-serving chief editor is Brian Bonner, an American citizen who became the editor in the summer of 1999 and returned on June 9, 2008. He continued to serve until Nov. 19, 2021.

After Zahoor's purchase on July 28, 2009, he has had six chief executive officers, including American James Phillipoff (July 2009-July 2011), Michael Willard (July 2011-August 2013), Jakub Parusinski (September 2013-August 2014), Nataliya Bugayova (August 2014-December 2015) and Luc Chenier (August 2016 – March 1, 2018). Bugayova was the former chief of staff to Economy Minister Pavel Sheremeta before becoming the first Ukrainian and first woman to be CEO of the Kyiv Post. Bugayova resigned to relocate and take a new job as the director of development for the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, D.C. Bugayova wrote her farewell column "Kyiv Post's values are made for new Ukraine"[36] in the December 18, 2015, edition of the Kyiv Post. Commercial director Alyona Nevmerzhytska became acting chief executive officer in March 2016 until Chenier took over in August 2016. After Chenier's departure on March 1, 2018, Brian Bonner took over the duties of the CEO but retained his title as chief editor amid the transfer to Kivan's ownership.

On 11 November, the new CEO of Kyiv Post was announced, Luc Chénier.[34] On 24 December 2021, Bohdan Nahaylo was appointed as a Chief Editor of the Kyiv Post.

Awards and recognition

[edit]

The Kyiv Post's longtime motto on its masthead was "Independence. Community. Trust." meant to underscore its commitment to high journalistic standards and ethical practices, in contrast to many Ukrainian news outlets where publishers and owners dictate editorial policy and advertising is disguised as news stories through the purchase of space known as "jeansa" or advertorials.

The newspaper changed its official motto to "Ukraine's Global Voice" in February 2018, when the slogan appeared in the first print edition and on the website home page under the masthead as per Luc Chenier’s suggestion while on his first assignment as CEO to better represent Kyiv Post’s global reach and impact.

In 2014, the Kyiv Post staff won the University of Missouri Journalism School's prestigious Medal of Honor for Distinguished Service in Journalism. The award was given to chief editor Brian Bonner and then-deputy chief editor Katya Gorchinskaya, who held the position from 2008–2015, at a ceremony at the journalism school in Columbia, Missouri, on October 28, 2014.[37][38]

Also in 2014, Moscow-based AGT Communications Company released the findings of its survey from November 21, 2013 to May 21, 2014, that found the Kyiv Post is the most-quoted Ukrainian source of news by American and European news organizations and the second-most quoted in Ukraine and Russia, after Russia's Kommersant. The findings were based on citations in Factiva, the Dow Jones research database.[39]

Five Kyiv Post journalists have also won six-month fellowships through the Alfred Friendly Press Partners program, administrated by the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. They were Anastasia Forina, who worked at the Chicago Tribune in 2014; Oksana Grytsenko, who worked at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2015; Olena Goncharova, who worked at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2016; Yulianna Romanyshyn, who worked at the Chicago Tribune in 2017; and Anna Yakutenko, who started her fellowship in March 2018. She was assigned to KCUR, the National Public Radio affiliate in Kansas City, Missouri.

In June 2022, Anna Myroniuk and Andrei Ciurcanu were runners up in the European Press Prize's Investigative Reporting Award for a story published in the Kyiv Post. The story revealed how Chinese Tobacco manufacturers were supplying smugglers of millions of cigarettes into Ukraine.[40]

In October 2023, Kyiv Post was the first news organisations in Ukraine to be given a 100% content transparency and accuracy rating for journalism standards according to global rating platform News Guard (others with a perfect 100% included The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal).[5]

[edit]

The Kyiv Post's print circulation was 10,000 copies per week until Nov 11, 2021 where Luc Chénier , CEO of Kyiv Post made the decision to cease publishing the physical version of the news due to realistic economic reasoning such as a long need move to digital to reach a wider audience, the war in Ukraine and most importantly that its audience had shifted to the international market and was no longer in Ukraine itself. As well, Chénier made the decision to take down the paywall for online reading to make its content more democratic and freely accessible to the all audiences around the world to help promote and inform the world about Ukraine without having them to pay for access.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Digi Media сейлз-хаус". kppublications.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-11.
  2. ^ a b Kyiv Post founder reflects on 14 years as newspaper's owner, reasons for sale. Archived 2012-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, Kyiv Post (November 19, 2009).
  3. ^ "Regional newspapers". Krakow Post. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  4. ^ "About". KADORR Group. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  5. ^ a b "Great News for Kyiv Post and Prestigious Top Global Ratings for Ukrainian Journalism". Kyiv Post. 2023-10-03.
  6. ^ "Oligarch Watch Archives - KyivPost". 6 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b Ukraine's Top English-Language Newspaper Suddenly Shut Down Amid Owner-Staff Dispute Archived 2022-03-09 at the Wayback Machine, Radio Free Europe (8 November 2021)
  8. ^ "Staff Of Shuttered English-Language Kyiv Post Launches New Media Project". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  9. ^ "It is happening! The Kyiv Independent's website is live: kyivindependent.com As the Kyiv Post remains dormant, we are taking up the torch. Ukraine is no longer without a global voice. We thank Dudka.Agency for developing the website pro bono". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  10. ^ "The Kyiv Independent". The Kyiv Independent. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  11. ^ a b c Mackinnon, Mark (16 December 2021). "How the shuttering of the Kyiv Post fuelled a journalism rebirth in Ukraine". The Globe and Mail.
  12. ^ "Luc Chenier again in charge of Kyiv Post". Interfax-Ukraine. 11 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Bohdan Nahaylo Named as Acting Chief Editor of Kyiv Post". Kyiv Post. 24 December 2021.
  14. ^ a b "About". KADORR Group: официальный сайт Кадор Групп в Одессе.
  15. ^ Letter from the publisher Archived 2012-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Kyiv Post (November 19, 2009)
  16. ^ Natalya Ryabinska (November–December 2011). "The Media Market and Media Ownership in Post-Communist Ukraine" (PDF). Problems of Post-Communism. 58 (6): 3–20. doi:10.2753/PPC1075-8216580601. S2CID 155910833.
  17. ^ Mohammad Zahoor buys Kyiv Post for an estimated $1.1 million Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, Kyiv Post (July 30, 2009)
  18. ^ "Zahoor: Robust Media Vital". KyivPost. 6 August 2009.
  19. ^ "Kyiv Post publisher Adnan Kivan: I will 'preserve editorial independence' of newspaper | KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice". KyivPost. 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  20. ^ Bonner, Brian (March 30, 2018). "New Kyiv Post publisher Adnan Kivan: 'Without independent journalism you cannot get democracy'". Kyiv Post. Archived from the original on 26 December 2020.
  21. ^ "Brian Bonner: Take the multiple choice quiz about Kyiv Post's new owner | KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice". 26 March 2018.
  22. ^ "Tiger Conference – Tiger Conference".
  23. ^ "Media Development Foundation - Facebook". Facebook.
  24. ^ "Iryna Somer, Author at KyivPost". KyivPost. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  25. ^ "Nine years after start of Orange Revolution, Kyivans take to streets in protest of scuttled EU deal". KyivPost. 21 February 2016.
  26. ^ "Brian Bonner: News is not free, no longer is Kyiv Post". KyivPost.
  27. ^ "Gas trade leaves trail of lawsuits, corruption". kyivpost.com. July 2010.
  28. ^ Kyiv Post homepage Archived 2011-01-20 at the Wayback Machine accessed 2011-01-20 from the UK
  29. ^ "London Judge Dismisses Firtash Lawsuit Against Kyiv Post – Feb. 25, 2011". KyivPost. February 25, 2011.
  30. ^ A libel without a cause Archived 2018-09-22 at the Wayback Machine, Varsity (24th February 2011)
  31. ^ "The Newsonomics of the Kyiv Post's Embattled Work". Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  32. ^ "Kyiv Post's unlikely success". Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  33. ^ Killeen, Molly (9 November 2021). "Kyiv Post shut down, entire staff fired without warning". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  34. ^ a b [1] Archived 2021-12-10 at the Wayback Machine Interfax 911 November 2021)
  35. ^ Cooper, Ann (2022-02-08). "Ukraine editor Olga Rudenko on starting Kyiv Independent as Russia amasses troops on border". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  36. ^ "Nataliya Bugayova: Kyiv Post's values are made for new Ukraine - Dec. 19, 2015". KyivPost. 19 December 2015.
  37. ^ "Kyiv Post staff wins 2014 Missouri Honor Medal - Jun. 23, 2014". KyivPost. June 23, 2014.
  38. ^ "The Missouri Honor Medal - Missouri School of Journalism". journalism.missouri.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-11-13. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  39. ^ "Kyiv Post one of most cited news sources in Ukraine, Russia by Western news media". KyivPost. 17 June 2014.
  40. ^ "Huge quantities of Chinese cigarettes smuggled into Ukraine". European Press Prize. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
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