On June 12, the Commission on Journalistic Ethics held an online meeting with Yevhen Streltsov, editor-in-chief of a Kharkiv radio wave “Nakypilo” (loosely translates to “Reached a boiling point.”) We discussed why radio is important in frontline areas, how Nakypilo managed to win over the audience from Kharkiv and beyond so fast, and their main principles while creating local content.
Here are some of the most interesting comments from that meeting.
- The Nakypilo Media Group was established in Kharkiv in the spring of 2014 to cover the events in the city and explain that Kharkiv is Ukraine, not just some isolated territory striving to become part of Russia.
- We always thought of setting up a radio station because we knew that radio was powerful and had to function in the city again. In the summer of 2021, we approached the establishment of a radio station, which was eventually launched with the support of USAID.
- We mostly discussed culture and did not delve into political events. This was primarily the social and cultural sector. However, when the full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022, we started issuing audio digests and news shows.
- Kharkiv oblast was targeted by information attacks from dozens of Russian radio stations, which spread fakes and propaganda, reinforced their transmitters so they would even reach Kharkiv itself. The content was not very peaceful, and their position and rhetoric were clearly anti-Ukrainian. We realized we had to work on an FM wavelength.
- On December 12, 2022, we started transmitting at 92.2 FM in Kharkiv. This is a major milestone for us. Our signal beat the enemy radio wave Zhyzn.
- Our format is a music and information radio station. This is music only by Ukrainian artists; we prefer working with indie projects, for whom music is often a political act. There are often tracks that are dedicated to today’s events.
- On our station, you can hear about investigations of Russian war crimes in Kharkiv oblast, shows about rehabilitation of the military, the Public Talk show where they discuss Russia’s information operators, there is a show about women in the military and women volunteers, there are live shows three times a day when the hosts discuss regional events with soldiers, volunteers, artists. There are shows about humor or music, but they are still focused on the present. Our content is about Kharkiv, Kharkiv region, its people.
- There are more local stations in Kharkiv now — we are excited to see more colleagues, this is crucial.
- There are 30 people on our team now. Our current goal is to continue expanding our transmission in Kharkiv oblast and reach other towns where people may need more information.
- There is still more interesting work ahead of us. After Ukraine’s victory, electoral processes will start, and we will see a new political map. People at the helm of the city today worked with Kernes for years. I hope that the political situation will change dramatically, and that there will be people ready to join the local authorities because there are many things that have to change.
- As for advertising, we try to search for partners. We don’t advertise in the classical sense of the word, we do not accept commercials, only social partnerships.
- Unfortunately, we don’t get to see our audience on the ground, because there is no research on this subject conducted in the region. So we base our decisions on what we observe online. The most active part of the audience listens to us from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., especially from 9 until noon.
- We are planning to remain a regional radio station — we are a local media outlet and do not plan to create a national network. We represent Kharkiv and have enough work here as is. It so happens that we are a wartime radio station, and we dedicate a lot of attention to what is happening. But I am confident that there will be even more work after the war is over — there will be elections, rebuilding, this will need to be covered and controlled.
- Russians call us a “cannibalistic radio” and urge to jam our signal. There have been attempts to hack our website and live transmissions.
- We are a special radio station, and our second slogan is “Discover Something New.” This is specifically about new Ukrainian independent music. When we talk to partners about copyright, they look at those artists and understand that many of them are not listed anywhere; we are literally discovering new names.
- We had situations when we were contacted by families of artists who are, unfortunately, no longer with us, men and women who were killed in action, and their songs played on our radio. It’s important that these people’s dreams came true, even if they are no longer with us themselves.
- We do not comment on information regarding the actions of the defense forces of Ukraine, but this is our only limitation. Regarding defense issues, we try to cover such things from different angles, but in a balanced way. We don’t want to attack the authorities only because we can.
- Our contact with the audience is through social media — we regularly get messages on Instagram, Facebook; sometimes I get phone calls. But mostly, people do tend to use social media.
- I see our audience online. More than 70% are women, residents of Kharkiv region and Kharkiv, but also those who live in other cities, perhaps Kyiv, Lviv. The core audience is of ages 18 to 35. There is a big audience abroad — in Germany, Poland, the US, Canada.
- We are a platform that is open to dialogue and discussion, interested in conversations and dialogue with the authorities; we have been doing a lot to achieve this. We want the authorities to explain their actions, but, unfortunately, it does not always work that way. Sadly, there is not enough communication.