November 15, 2021
Euromaidan Press
The fired team of Kyiv Post, which was abruptly shut down last week by its owner Adnan Kivan, is going to launch a new media outlet with the “values and spirit” of Ukraine’s largest and oldest English-language newspaper. They informed on their Facebook page Save the Kyiv Post: “A week ago, the Kyiv Post as we know it ceased to exist. The good news is that we continue to carry on its values and spirit. We are now moving to launch a new media outlet with 30 ex-Kyiv Post employees onboard to continue its legacy.”
Olga Rudenko, the former deputy chief editor at the Kyiv Post, will be the new Editor-in-chief, the announcement said. Kyiv Post was previously headed by Brian Bonner, who expressed a desire to retire after Kivan’s decision.
The new team has partnered up with Jnomics Media, a media consultancy firm based in London and Kyiv headed by Kyiv Post alumni. This firm will be responsible for the business side of the new project.
The ex-Kyiv Post journalists are currently working on creating a legal entity, outlining a strategy and securing partnerships, but have already announced the launch of a newsletter, to which one can subscribe. The team is open to help and suggestions.
On 8 November, the journalists suddenly discovered they were all fired following a standoff with the media’s owner, the Odesa-based developer Adnan Kivan. As journalist Anna Myroniuk told during a press conference at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center on 15 November, Mr. Kivan had wanted to expand the coverage of Kyiv Post to create a Ukrainian version of the outlet and insisted on appointing Olena Rotari, the former chief editor of Kivan’s 7th Channel TV to manage it. The Kyiv Post staff considered Rotari to be loyal to Kivan and insisted that the manager of the new Ukrainian branch would undergo the same hiring process as all other journalists.