Ukraine’s biggest English-language publisher, one year in
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Hello and a big welcome to our new subscribers from European Commission, Media Perspectives, Altman Solon, Mash Media and many others!
One year ago, Ukrainian-Syrian real estate tycoon Adnan Kivan, who owns Ukraine’s oldest English-language newspaper Kyiv Post, fired the whole newsroom, in what the journalists at the time called “getting rid of inconvenient, fair and honest journalists”. The team immediately came together to launch a new publication, The Kyiv Independent. Little did they know about the year that would lie ahead of them.
The year was extremely difficult – just three months after The Kyiv Independent was launched Russia plunged Ukraine into an all-out war, upending the whole country. However, it was also a year when The Kyiv Independent became an essential Ukrainian voice for people across the world.
The outlet accumulated a significant audience, going from 30,000 subscribers on Twitter to 1 million in just a few days in late February (and outpacing Kyiv Post in the process). It has broken important stories, offered insightful war reporting, and achieved financial success thanks to an outpouring of reader support.
(The Kyiv Independent has deep ties to The Fix – The Fix’s co-founders and editors Daryna Shevchenko, Jakub Parusiński and Zakhar Protsiuk are senior executives at the company).
Last week, The Fix’s Sofiia Padalko took a deep dive into The Kyiv Independent’s story one year in – including its plans to outgrow the role of the loudest international voice of Ukraine to becoming the main English-language publisher in the broader region.
Ukraine’s struggle for freedom and democracy against Russian aggression has been a bright spot in the world where authoritarianism is on the rise – and The Kyiv Independent has been an important voice covering it. More is to come.
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The Kyiv Independent: it’s all about freedom
Sofiia Padalko
On the way from the loudest international voice of Ukraine to the main English-language publisher in the whole region
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Focus on value instead of reach – ideas for metrics to use in your newsroom
Hleb Liapeika
Go deeper and smarter with your metrics and find precious information about your audience satisfaction
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If you properly welcome new users and subscribers, they’ll stay longer. Here’s how to design your onboarding experience
David Tvrdon
Designing a suitable welcome experience for new supporters is more important than you think; many newsrooms underestimate its importance. Here are a few takeaways from creating a successful user journey
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Western European publishers found a way to keep high cookie consent rates. Will Eastern Europe follow?
Šimon Krajniak
How should publishers deal with visitors browsing their, often expensively produced, content without the ability to track them properly and monetise them effectively? (Published in partnership with FatChilli)
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Today, we’re happy to present an article from FatChilli, The Fix’s product partners and the team behind our website. FatChilli for publishers, helping news media monetize their content and achieve sustainable revenue streams.
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What works best for increasing reader engagement and retaining loyalty? Practical tips from media professionals to publishers
FatChilli
What can we do to engage new audiences and retain them? How do we make readers engage with our content more? And how do we develop media brand lovers?
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US digital outlet Vox famously has a highly successful video journalism arm, including a popular YouTube channel and partnerships with major streaming companies. However, they haven’t figured how to make money out of short-form video – so the publisher says their presence on TikTok is closer to a “civic duty”. Digiday interviewed Vox Media’s video executive Emily Anderson on Vox’s short-form video strategy. |
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Even while facing financial headwinds and cutting jobs back in the UK, the BBC plans to ramp up its coverage in the United States. The aim is to offer a solution to the polarised media landscape with growing distrust of news media, and the business case looks strong. Press Gazette reports on the BBC’s North American ambitions.
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As Telegram has grown to become a truly global platform, its strengths and weaknesses are felt by journalists across many different countries. Columbia Journalism Review writes that for Iraqi journalists Telegram channels are both a rich source of scoops and also a place where they are harassed and intimidated.
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The UK government under new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to shelve plans to privatise Channel 4, new reports show. The government under Sunak is reassessing the policies put in motion by his predecessors. As Financial Times reports, “[media] industry executives and some [members of Parliament] expect the privatisation will be among the many low-priority policies that will be scrapped by Sunak, as he focuses on stabilising the economy and unifying his own party”.
A publicly owned TV station created under Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1982, Channel 4 is financed by advertising and has traditionally focused on creating programming for underserved audiences. The previous conservative government believed public ownership held the channel back from competing with streaming giants like Netflix; in April, the government led by Boris Johnson decided to go ahead with a sale. Channel 4 itself has opposed privatisation, believing that the public ownership model serves its needs better; some members of the ruling Coservative Party have also opposed selling the channel. |
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Time, the publisher of Time magazine, appointed Jessica Sibley as its chief executive officer. Sibley joins the company from Forbes, where she has worked as chief operating officer. The company has undergone a transformation in recent years; in 2018 the magazine was purchased by Marc Benioff, co-founder and CEO of the software company Salesforce, and his wife Lynne. “Under the Benioffs, Time shifted from a business focused mainly on print to other areas such as a film and television studio and an events business”, The Wall Street Journal notes; though the print magazine retains 1.3 million subscribers. |
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Iran has been accused of plotting to kill two journalists working in the United Kingdom. “The Metropolitan Police [of London] have now formally notified both [British-Iranian] journalists that… threats [they received] represent an imminent, credible and significant risk to their lives and those of their families”, their employer Iran International said in a statement. As BBC notes, the Farsi-language UK-based TV channel has been “among the main sources of news and information in a country where independent media and journalists are constantly persecuted” along with BBC Persian, particularly in light of recent mass protests in the country. |
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Opportunities and deadlines
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Global Health Security Fund 2023 Call. Grant funding is available to support in-depth journalistic analysis on the topic of global health security. Grant amount is up to $8,500 (€8,500). The call is aimed at journalists publishing stories in media organisations across France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway and Sweden.
More info: http://bit.ly/3fX961t
Deadline: December 9
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Webinar: Reaching underserved communities. Google News Initiative’s Digital Growth Program will hold a session with La Noticia Publisher and CEO Hilda H. Gurdian and Online News Association CEO Irving Washington. They will discuss how to best support and sustain growth for news organisations that serve underrepresented communities.
More info: http://bit.ly/3TtrHjl
When: November 15
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DRL FY22 Internet Freedom Annual Program Statement. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) of the US State Department announced a new funding round for programs that support internet freedom.
More info: http://bit.ly/3tpCeBI
Deadline: January 13
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Project Manager, Media Freedom Coalition Secretariat. Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) is looking for a Project Manager to join the team behind the Media Freedom Coalition, “a partnership of countries working together proactively to advocate for media freedom and the safety of journalists at home and abroad”. The position is based in London.
More info: http://bit.ly/3TupsfR
Deadline: November 21
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Onboarding Marketing Executive. The Economist invites professionals to apply to a position of Onboarding Retention Marketing Executive. You will be planning and implementing CRM programs and multichannel marketing campaigns. The position is based in London.
More info: http://bit.ly/3hBRlp2
Deadline: Open till filled
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Ad Operations Associate. Politico Europe is seeking an experienced Ad Operations Associate. The primary function is to fulfil sales orders in a deadline-driven and ever-changing environment. The position is based in Brussels, Paris, London or Berlin
More info: http://bit.ly/3Tw9gun
Deadline: Open till filled
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