The Suspilne Ukraine team worked with international media experts on a master plan for newsroom development*. The five-day workshop took place on 21–25 September at the News House in Kyiv and the production centre of Suspilne’s western hub in Lviv.
The participants included Nadiia Mantulo, Project Manager at DW Akademie; Steffen Leidel, Senior Consultant at DW Akademie; international consultants engaged by DW Akademie — David Hayward, a former BBC editor and media consultant, and Isobel Koshiw, a journalist who has worked as a Ukraine correspondent for The Guardian, the Associated Press, the Financial Times and other media outlets — as well as Marie Lazorenko, DW Akademie’s local coordinator. Together with the Suspilne team, they analysed editorial and production processes, identified needs and developed the next steps for the newsroom.
“When the information space is flooded with fake news, verified news must reach people first. That is why we are building a newsroom centred not on platforms but on people and their needs,” said Dmytro Khilchenko, a member of the Managing Board of Suspilne Ukraine responsible for production and technology.
“Having supported Suspilne Ukraine in building its newsroom, it is important for us to continue helping the organisation address the challenges that artificial intelligence poses to the media. Technology should be a driving force for improving journalism, not a threat to it,” said Nadiia Mantulo, Project Manager at DW Akademie.
In Kyiv, the team and experts discussed newsroom workflows, news production planning, audience needs and the use of digital tools. Suspilne presented its production planning system, a prototype news planning system, and artificial intelligence tools it already uses or plans to introduce.
“Public service media has a unique opportunity to develop AI tools and infrastructure to ensure independent journalism — free from corporate and foreign interests — remains part of people’s lives. We need to do this now and on our own terms,” said Isobel Koshiw, international consultant for DW Akademie.
“What makes Suspilne Ukraine exceptional is its people. During these times of war, they demonstrate extraordinary resilience, dedication, and strength. AI can never replace that, but it can help make Suspilne’s journalistic excellence even more visible, both inside the organization and to the wider world. Throughout this week, we worked with a radically human-centric approach. We focused on the needs of Suspilne’s journalists and staff, as well as those of its audiences,” said Steffen Leidel, international consultant for DW Akademie.
The participants also worked on the concept of a data hub, different content formats and the use of archival materials. They also learned about the experience of Finnish public broadcaster Yle.
The delegation also met with Zhanna Bezpiatchuk, Head of the International News Desk at Suspilne Novyny. She spoke about the development of reporting and the integration of work across four main platforms. Most resources are currently focused on television news production, but the team aims to develop multimedia storytelling and adapt its content to the needs of audiences on different platforms.
“Step by step, we are trying to identify ‘windows of opportunity’ in our planning to improve the efficiency of journalists’ work and dedicate sufficient time and resources to different platforms. This takes on particular significance when journalists focus on telling a complete story while remembering that people are at the centre of every issue and phenomenon. Platform convergence is about more than providing comprehensive information. It is also about telling stories independently and competently,” said Zhanna Bezpiatchuk. “Developing reporting is a priority and an important task for us. In international news, this means reporting from the scene. One successful example is our correspondent Valeriia Pashko, who is based in Brussels and reports from there.”
In Lviv, Vitalii Hamadyn, Chief Editor of Suspilne’s Western Hub and Suspilne Lviv, and Maksym Voloshyn, Production Producer of the Western Hub, spoke about the work of Suspilne’s regional teams and the specifics of news production in the regions.
“From a single event, our correspondent can produce four or five different pieces of content: a television report, a stream or live report, social media content and a radio piece. Our hyperlocal correspondents work with a camera and a phone simultaneously and immediately send their materials to the newsroom, where they are adapted for different platforms,” said Vitalii Hamadyn, Chief Editor of Suspilne’s Western Hub and Suspilne Lviv. “Importantly, the hub team produces content not only for local and national news platforms but also for other areas of Suspilne, including Suspilne Sport and Suspilne Kultura. Throughout the year, journalists also produce between two and five major projects — documentaries or special reports.”
Following the workshop, the participants agreed on the next steps towards finalising the strategic vision, which will serve as the basis for improving Suspilne’s news output. The document will be finalised and presented in early December 2026.
*The project “Strengthening Suspilne’s Capacity Through AI Integration and Organizational Development” is implemented with the support of DW Akademie and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Suspilne Ukraine is an independent media company with a strong presence across all platforms: the TV channels Pershyi, Suspilne Kultura, Suspilne Sport, and a national network of local channels; the radio stations Ukrainske Radio, Radio Promin, Radio Kultura, Radiotochka. Find only verified news on suspilne.media, as well as on our national and local digital platforms. We broadcast in minority languages, represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest, develop the children’s platform Brobaks, and train media professionals through the Public Media Academy. Our Suspilne Mediateka platform offers unique video and audio archives dating from the 1920s to today. Defending freedom in Ukraine.
