Timea Steingart and Yasmine Naami
Oct 14, 2022
In this inaugural episode of the "Pioneers for Ukraine" podcast, Timea Steingart and Yasmine Naami of the Pioneer Foundation sit down with key Ukrainian editors—Vitaliy Sych, Sevgil Musayeva, and Olga Konsevych—to discuss the impact of the Foundation on their work. This initiative, which started in March 2022, has drawn up over $200,000 and was able to secure the operational viability of critical newsrooms. They analyze the operational realities of wartime reporting and detail the essential support channeled through the Foundation. The segment features two voices from our 700-donor network, revealing the commitment behind this strategic funding. This podcast is a direct product of the war, documenting the resilience of independent journalism and cementing the German civil society’s active commitment to securing democratic media in Europe.
Pioneers for Ukraine Podcast
Published in The Pioneer Briefing
In the first “Pioneers for Ukraine” podcast, Timea Steingart and Yasmine Naami from the Pioneer Foundation give our partners in Ukraine a chance to speak. The editors-in-chief of our partner publications, Vitaliy Sych, Sevgil Musayeva, and Olga Konsevych, talk about their work during the war, the role of journalism as a beacon of hope, and the support they receive from the Pioneer Foundation. In addition, two of our approximately 700 donors tell us what messages they have for journalists in Ukraine and what motivated them to donate.
This podcast is a child of war. It documents the courage of independent journalists in Ukraine, the solidarity of German civil society, and our willingness as Pioneers to fight for the goal of democratic journalism in Europe.
The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and translated from the original German broadcast.
Pioneers for Ukraine Podcast
YASMINE NAAMI (YN): This is a podcast from the Pioneer Foundation. I am Yasmine Naami.
TIMEA STEINGART (TS): And I am Timea Steingart.
YN: On February 24, 2022, at 4:30 in the morning, the European post-war era ended. Russia declared war on Ukraine. Russia has launched a large-scale offensive against Ukraine. Since the following night, troops have been advancing on several parts of the country.
[OFFICIAL STATEMENT 1, TRANSLATED]: Everyone must know that we will react immediately. And the consequences will be those you have never experienced in your history.
[OFFICIAL STATEMENT 2, TRANSLATED]: Ukraine will defend itself and will not give up its freedom, no matter what Moscow thinks. For us Ukrainians, independence is the highest good, as is the right to live on our own soil according to our own will.
TS: The Russian attack not only marks a terrible day for Ukraine but also a dark day in the history of Europe. With an iron fist, Putin is shaking the pillars of the post-war order. The first victim of every war, so it is said, is the truth, because disinformation is becoming the new normal.
YN: But there are journalists who will not allow that. The free media in Ukraine are fighting on this invisible information front. They are fighting for the truth about this war. But they are also fighting for their own survival.
TS: We, the Pioneer Foundation, support Ukrainian journalists in their fight for freedom. For example, the editor-in-chief of the news outlet Ukrainska Pravda, Sevgil Musayeva (Editor-in-Chief of Ukrainska Pravda).
YN: The media in Ukraine are not only restricted in their daily work, they also have to manage with fewer staff than before the war, because women with children have fled and many men are being called to the front. Vitaliy Sych (Editor-in-Chief of New Voice of Ukraine), experienced this firsthand.
VITALIY SYCH (New Voice of Ukraine): Our biggest problem in the business, in the media, is that outside of the physical threat to our lives, the advertising revenues are falling [DRASTICALLY].
TS: The Pioneer Foundation supports the New Voice of Ukraine with this difficult task. Journalistic work is also challenging in Ukraine for Olga Konsevych (Editor-in-Chief of 24TV).
OLGA KONSEVYCH (24TV): We have to [MAINTAIN] our information frontline. But there is no point in sugarcoating things. The media cannot continue to work as before. They are struggling with a decline in revenue because, in times of war economy, income from advertising has decreased.
YN: This is exactly where the aid from our non-profit Pioneer Foundation comes in. Our original idea is to encourage and train experts from business and civil society to write and broadcast. Everyone can be a reporter of real life. Many experts know their topic a thousand times better than the journalists who normally report on it. The concept comes from the USA and is called Citizen Journalism.
TS: Due to the war in Ukraine, we decided to launch the Pioneers for Ukraine project. To prevent the collapse of the free media, we provided immediate aid. Gabor Steingart (Journalist and Founder of the Pioneer Foundation), explains the goal.
GABOR STEINGART (Pioneer Foundation Founder): We must not allow newsrooms to dissolve now, that correspondent networks collapse, and that those whose profession is the search for truth desert. Freedom of expression in Ukraine only has a chance if it is defended with the same ambition and also with the same honesty as the residential areas, the factories, the port facilities. Journalists in Ukraine do not need mortars and hand grenades right now. They probably do need our financial support. They also need our attention; they need our compassion. What they do not need, because they have it themselves, is their courage.
YN: We started providing aid for Ukraine directly in the weeks after the war began. And we are now supporting various Ukrainian media outlets in Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv with the Foundation’s money. In the meantime, we have gained further supporters—large corporations, medium-sized companies, and many private individuals.
TS: Specifically, the Foundation has concluded sponsorships with four Ukrainian newsrooms. These newsrooms employ 360 journalists and reach around 215 million readers, listeners, and viewers monthly. We have taken on a sponsorship for the media company New Voice of Ukraine under Editor-in-Chief Vitaliy Sych. The New Voice of Ukraine is a [KEY PLATFORM] for reaching people outside of Ukraine with its English-language reporting.
YN: Especially the first few weeks after the start of the war posed major challenges for the newsrooms. The new daily life involves bomb impacts and air raid sirens.
VITALIY SYCH (New Voice of Ukraine): When the war started and Russian troops came near Kyiv and the street fighting began in the city, many people evacuated their families. I was one of them. Spent days on the western border with my wife and 8-year-old twins. There was almost nothing to eat and no place to sleep. I took them to the Slovakian border. In the first week, we lost a lot of contact with many people because they were fleeing and fleeing. In general, they [THE JOURNALISTS] cope with the stress very well, although everyone is in their personal crisis. That is clear enough.
TS: We at the Pioneer Foundation also support the online portal 24TV. Before the war, the newsroom employed 135 people. Today, about 70 still work for the website, which makes every effort to continue reporting independently on political, economic, and social events. The journalists who remain are currently fighting the battle of their lives. Editor-in-Chief Olga Konsevych tells of the eternal game of hide-and-seek and the iron will to persevere.
OLGA KONSEVYCH (24TV): My life has completely [CHANGED] since the defense [BEGAN]. I've changed two countries, five apartments, but I'm still doing journalism and I understand that this is my biggest wish. If you are a journalist, you are also [CONFRONTED] with misinformation, with fake news, and with some destructive problems, for example, corruption.
YN: The Foundation entered into its first sponsorship with Ukrainska Pravda, one of the largest online daily newspapers in Ukraine. Pravda was founded 22 years ago and translates to "the truth." It was intended at the time as an ironic reference to the Russian party newspaper named Pravda.
TS: Thanks to the sponsorships, the newsrooms can stay afloat and continue their work in this information war. They can now easily pay salaries, publish their content in multiple languages, produce elaborate photo series about the everyday lives of civilians and soldiers, and disseminate all of this worldwide on social media channels. However, the truth also includes this: sometimes reporters risk their lives to interview people in occupied cities. They want their voices to be heard everywhere.
VITALIY SYCH (New Voice of Ukraine): The finances we received from Pioneer Media went into our English language [VERSION], which involves eight people. The English language NV Site is very important for us, as it is a way to [REACH] a free audience and to compensate for advertising damage at home. In February, we had 130,000 viewers. In June of this year, we already had 730,000 viewers, which is almost six times more. Our Twitter in the English-language version has also become extremely popular. It has increased from only 4,000 followers to more than 200,000 followers in June.
YN: According to Sevgil Musayeva, editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda, what ultimately matters is bringing the truth to light and being allowed to continue practicing their profession.
SEVGIL MUSAYEVA (Ukrainska Pravda): I am very grateful for the support of the Pioneer Foundation. Thanks to this support, we can do our job, we can continue our [REPORTING]. Without the support of our Pioneers, none of this would have been possible.
TS: We thank all donors and supporters who make this aid project, Pioneers for Ukraine, possible. Large DAXcorporations [GERMAN STOCK INDEX] such as Bayer AG are involved. Christoph Kamper (Bayer Corporate Communications), explains why.
CHRISTOPH KAMPER (Bayer AG): The suffering of the people and also the geopolitical upheavals caused by the war cannot leave us indifferent. As a company, the fate of the people and, of course, our more than 700 employees and their families were the focus from the very beginning. In addition to the stories of the employees, there are also stories of our customers, namely the farmers who have made Ukraine the granary of Europe in recent decades, who move us and touch us.
YN: Many private individuals are also involved. Their donations help us, and thus the journalists in Ukraine, to a significant extent. One of these donors is Klaus Bohndorf (Private Donor from Bavaria).
KLAUS BOHNDORF (Donor): Every support is necessary. The care of people, weapons are paramount; there is no question for me. But freedom of the press without influence from the state or even from oligarchs and the mafia is a personal concern of mine. On the Wartburg, you can find a saying that has always greatly impressed and influenced me: "Bläst sich der Wind, so blas dagegen" [TRANSLATION: If the wind blows, blow against it]. I mean, if many blow a little, it will become a veritable wind.
TS: We will support journalists in Ukraine for as long as necessary. And we welcome every one of you who helps us with this important task. Every Euro facilitates the work of our sponsored newsrooms in Ukraine. The Pioneer Foundation thanks all donors for their willingness to help. This is how you ensure that the fire of freedom of expression does not go out in Ukraine. That the old saying about truth being the first casualty of war does not come true this time. Or as our supporter Klaus Bohndorf says: Hold on and remain incorruptible
YN: Thank you very much for your interest. Yours, Yasmine Naami,
TS: and yours, Timea Steingart.
The Pioneers Foundation had launched its general "Pioneers for Ukraine" campaign earlier, on March 28, 2022, to provide swift support to Ukrainian media professionals. The podcast episode is part of The Pioneer Briefing series.
Project Links:
Pioneer Foundation Website: [https://www.pioneer-foundation.de/#mission]
Pioneers for Ukraine Project: [https://www.pioneer-foundation.de/pioneers-for-ukraine-en]
Full Podcast Episode: [https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=pioneers+for+ukraine+podcast&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8]