Spring has finally, mercifully liberated Kyiv from its extended winter sentence, bringing the scents of chestnut blossoms and horse dung to the air, short skirts to the streets, and, even more reliably, changes to the Kyiv Post. You may have noticed already that this column lacks the byline of our editor, Tom Warner.
Tom, an incurable wanderer of Eastern Europe, will leave Kyiv and continue his slow march east toward Moscow – a journey that began about six years ago in Prague. We reward Tom, who retires from his post tomorrow, by finally giving him a break from writing his weekly editorial, which he has been cranking out with insight, wit and nearly machine-like efficiency since taking over the paper last September. We all wish Tom good luck in his travels.
Also leaving us after more than two years of journalistic excellence is Lily Hyde, who will soon be moving on to do free-lance work and travel. If you don’t know Lily by name, you certainly know her articles. Lily has been known to expose the degenerate side of society, causing more than a few hearts to bleed with her trademark stories on topics such as women-trafficking, AIDS and abortion. While we couldn’t convince Lily to suffer along with us through another summer in the sweltering Kyiv Post editorial room, we all hope she will continue to contribute hard-hitting pieces for us as she travels the regions this summer.
There will be also be some new faces here at the Kyiv Post in the coming months. A new editor-in-chief is scheduled to arrive from Minnesota in mid-June, bringing several decades of journalistic experience with him. Until then I will forsake my duties on the business desk to fulfill the role of acting chief editor. With our corps of excellent reporters still largely intact, there’s no reason to expect the transition to be anything but seamless.
When Tom took over, he asked you to hold him to his promise to make the Post among the best that journalism has to offer, anywhere and in any medium. I think Tom has been true to his word, and in turn I would ask all of you to hold me to the same promise to maintain that standard. When I first came to Ukraine in August 1997, I could scarcely have imagined I’d be sitting here today making such a request. I originally came over just to visit for a couple weeks. By simple twist of fate, I was offered a job at one of Kyiv’s other English-language publications. So began 18 months of intense education on this quirky country known as Ukraine. And I don’t see myself going anywhere soon.
One of the clearest lessons I have learned during that time is that Ukraine still lacks a free press. The government, by shamelessly closing down the media that dare to speak out against it, scarcely disguises that fact. The press for its part sells itself out not only to the government, but to business interests as well.
Having been the editor of the Post’s business section for nine months now, I have on many occasions witnessed businesses trying to buy favorable coverage. When they find that they can’t get away with such antics here, they are more surprised than disappointed. The concept of free press is completely foreign to them. One of my first observations working in a newsroom here was that the public-relations business is virtually non-existent. Now I know why: In Ukraine the piggy bank is an adequate substitute for the PR agency.
With that in mind, it’s a remarkable achievement that the Post has been able to maintain its independent voice through three-and-a-half years of existence. People often tell me they are fascinated that Post editors get away with writing stringent editorials ruthlessly bashing the Ukrainian power brass. Others take offense at our critical editorial line, claiming it is ‘anti-Ukraine.’
That’s a matter for healthy debate. I, for one, firmly believe that every government cretin that gets panned on these pages deserves what he or she gets. What cannot be debated, however, is that each one of those editorials is a shining testament to our independence. And that is something we should all be grateful for.
With the presidential elections coming up in October, it is more important than ever that we are able to maintain that independence and speak our minds. The wrong choice in the election might not only sacrifice the very existence of this country – it would also certainly be the end of our own independence.
