大象传媒

Since 24 February, the life and work of Yaroslava Kaminska has changed completely, in ways she never could have anticipated.

Two months ago, she was manager of the Ukrainian public broadcaster鈥檚 journalism training academy, and living in a small village northwest of Kyiv 鈥� not far from Bucha. Almost overnight, daily life became sheltering in a basement from fierce Russian shelling, and then 鈥� two weeks later - fleeing in a civilian convoy under heavy fire.

Now, in the comparative quiet of western Ukraine, Yaroslava is supporting the sheer logistics of relocating a national news operation in the middle of a full-blown war.

鈥淲e were lucky to stay alive,鈥� says Yaroslava, speaking by WhatsApp after a long day of registering colleagues to allow them to work in new cities, after leaving everything behind.

The world has turned upside down for Ukraine鈥檚 public broadcaster, Suspilne (Public), also known as UA:PBC, since Russia鈥檚 invasion of the country.

Just last autumn, Suspilne opened a new and modern newsroom in Kyiv鈥檚 central Khreshatyk Boulevard, working across multi-media platforms with support from 大象传媒 Media Action and Deutsche Welle Akademie. Years of training and mentoring - from 大象传媒 Media Action, Deutsche Welle Akademie and other organisations - had helped to improve journalists鈥� editorial and production skills, and enabled the media house to completely revamp its newsroom workflows and grow a strong digital presence.

It also established the UA:PBC Academy, with centres in both Kyiv and Odesa, to train journalists and students aspiring to work in the field. In peacetime, the Academy covers a wide range of topics, including investigative skills, how to identify mis- and disinformation and verify data, and basic shooting and editing techniques.

Targeted for attack

With newsrooms in 24 cities and regions across the country, Suspilne was reinventing itself as a modern national public service broadcaster, transforming itself from its roots as a state-controlled TV channel. COVID-19 had already changed their ways of working, putting much of their training online and more of their reporting, too.

But the war has affected nearly every aspect of its operations. Suspilne left its new Kyiv studio when it became clear that media infrastructure was being targeted for attack. Main broadcasts pivoted to whichever regional offices were facing the least disruption.

Digital news operations quickly became a core focus, as Ukrainians desperate for trusted information scrolled endlessly on phones from underground parking garages and metro stations doubling as bomb shelters. Its Telegram channel, including the day鈥檚 headlines and the latest air raid alerts, has quickly grown; by mid-April, Suspilne had around five million subscribers across all of its social media channels.

'Heroes' 

鈥淭hey are really heroes, because they are doing all the work together,鈥� she says of her colleagues, who are doing whatever jobs are required in order to continue with live coverage. In addition to covering live and risky developing situations, editors are working as reporters, and some journalists have pivoted to work online or remotely.

The war has also brought new challenges. There has been an avalanche of user-generated, highly emotional content on social media, much of it nearly impossible to authenticate; false and misleading information is rife. Training in verification techniques and approaches has been invaluable, she said. 鈥淭he team trust each other and know the balance, and how the editorial principles apply... They are working to the same principles that they were taught in the training.鈥�

But journalists plunged into war coverage still need support, she said. As well as financial support for media organisations to keep operating, journalists need training in first aid for the battlefield, and access to protective equipment, which is scarce and hard to import.

鈥淒on鈥檛 forget about us, the war is not yet over,鈥� she said.

大象传媒 Media Action is continuing to support partners in Ukraine - find out more  (leads to third-party site).

大象传媒 Media Action is a signatory to the in support of Ukraine's journalists (leads to third-party site).

All images courtesy of Suspilne.