Preserving the Record: Theโค EBU Ukraine Archive and the Future of War Reporting
The โEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU)โฃ has established a thorough archive dedicated to preservingโค reporting on theโ Russia-Ukraine War,โ creating โขa lasting resource for journalists, โresearchers, and the public.โข This initiative aims to safeguard accurate,self-reliant journalism in โa conflict saturated โwith disinformation andโข to hold “the powerful to account and to make the world โa saferโ place,” as stated by the EBU.
warโข reportingโ inherently carries critically important risks โfor those โinvolved – reporters, producers, camera operators, translators, fixers, and citizen journalists – frequentlyโ enough operatingโฃ in โขperilousโ environments. Recognizing โthis, the EBU Ukraine Archive serves as a “long โtail” for some of the most brave andโฃ vital reporting โfrom the conflict.
The archive’s core mission is to counter disinformation โฃandโค propaganda by compiling a factual and detailed narrative of theโ war. As the saying goes, “Truthโ is the first casualty of war,” and the EBU aims to ensure โa robustโฃ historical recordโค is maintained. This resource will be invaluable for journalists,โฃ documentary filmmakers, researchers, โandโค others seeking to inform audiences worldwide.
The โUkraine Archive isโค a collaborative effort,demonstrating how multiple media โorganizations can combine resources to achieve a โขgreater impact. Theโ EBU’s unique approachโ to creating a durable โarchive could serveโ as โa model for future journalistic conflictโฃ and war archives,โค influencing the wider journalism โcommunity.
Beyond its immediate purpose, the archive alsoโค seeks to โbolster public trust in media, a crucial โgoal at a โคtime when public media faces challenges and journalism’sโค business model is under โคpressure.
The project remains โongoing,with reporting and archivingโข continuing as the Russia-Ukraine โwar persists. Led by Anne Koch, โUkraine Archive Project Lead at โthe EBU,โ the initiative builds on a wealth โof experience. Koch previously served as Programme Director for the Globalโ Investigative Journalism Network โข(GIJN) and held an โคaward-winning career at the โขBBC,including roles as Deputy Director โคof โฃthe English World Service โฃand โExecutiveโค Editor of โขflagship radio news โprograms. She also served as Director for europe and Central โฃAsia at โขOpenness International.
This post was originally published by the EBU and is based on โขdetails โprovided by โAnne โคKoch.