During the political crisis in Belarus, the Belarusian independent media found themselves under a serious blow from the authorities. As it grew, the country found itself blocked by most of their sites, the three main heads of the media are in jail on criminal charges, and some media have been declared repremist. To continue working, the survivors are forced to leave the country, and new projects are immediately abroad for security reasons. DW reports on how Belarusian media work abroad.

Zerkalo.io has no journalist in Belarus

On May 18, 2020, the most popular and visited portal tut.by was closed in Belarus, 15 employees of the company ended up behind bars. “The editorial office ceased to exist in the form in which it was, therefore, a part of the team that could and wanted to be relocated was formed into the zerkalo.io team,” says project manager Alexandra Pushkina.

Now zerkalo.io employs 30 people, journalists have moved wherever it is convenient for them – the majority to Kiev or Vilnius. “The work has changed: due to the small number of sections we have reduced the sections, we do not make reports on the spot, the photo suffers, receives most of the content from readers, this is the main source, but we check everything carefully,” says Pushkina. The work is also hampered by the “extremist” status, which prompts some heroes or experts to ask to remain anonymous, she said.

“At present, in terms of numbers, we have already reached a third of the former tut.by audience,” explains Alexandra Pushkina. The project is financed, according to her, from various sources: “There are quite decent donations from readers, we interact with funds that include the media, and advertising on the site will start soon, and we also have direct advertisers.”

Now zerkalo.io does not have a single journalist in Belarus, and this is the principled position of the editorial board, which does not want to take responsibility for new arrests, while 15 colleagues are in prison. “We continue to write about Belarus for Belarus and do not shift the focus,” sums up the manager of zerkalo.io Alexander Pushkina.

Nikita Melkozerov interviews “extra people”

The YouTube channel of journalist Nikita Melkozerov “life is raspberry”, in which he interviews famous Belarusians, was originally conceived as a sports project. “I had a desire to make a project about sports, but the situation in the country began to develop, of course, I had to react.” – Nikita Melkozerov shares with DW. More than 80 thousand people have already subscribed to his channel, and recently the 50th anniversary edition has been released.

Anniversary in June 2020, Nikita Melkozerov celebrated “on the run.” “When sports journalists Alexander Ivulin and Yaroslav Pisarenko were detained, I realized that they were higher on the” execution “list, and if they came to them for sure and I was next in line. – says Melkozerov.

Nikita Melkozerov (right)

A series of interviews, a journalist who does abroad with political emigrants, he called “superfluous people” – among the heroes were Anton Motolko, Ilya Salei, Pavel Latushko, Yaroslav Romanchuk. “At the time of my departure, I understood that there are a large number of speakers abroad and it would be convenient to work from there. … According to him, the core of the channel’s audience remains in Belarus.

Since “life-raspberry” is an author’s project, Melkozerov is not worried about the fact that there are no representatives of the authorities or Belarusians of pro-government views among his guests. “I want to make a product and I think that people should inspire, sell air to those who justify violence, I have no desire. I help Belarusians get to know Belarusians – this is such a process of great acquaintance,” Melkozerov said.

“Malanka media” – civic television on YouTube

Unlike previous projects, the so-called television on YouTube “Malanka Media” was initially created abroad right in the wake of the protests in Belarus in the summer of 2020. “Pavel Marynich, the founder of the Zubr platform, started making a new TV for me. I came to Vilnius, we started with 3 people, we did everything from scratch.” “, – says the chief editor of the project Katerina Yerusalimskaya.

Katerina Erusalimskaya

Over time, the number of employees reached 12 people. Malanka Media is very proud of its growth – 100 thousand subscribers per year without any promotion costs. Malanka Media sees no problem in working abroad. “Our correspondents are ordinary citizens. We must receive information and feedback from them,” says founder Pavel Marynich.

Malanka Media is now working for user donations and funds from European funds, Marynich reports. “At the start, funds helped us, then the diaspora helped us a lot, they raised money for equipment. Now there is an agreement with funds that partially cover our needs, but we would like to receive stable funding for a year, otherwise we can look to tomorrow with confidence.”

The project is often accused of propaganda because of its harsh language against the Belarusian authorities and its clearly oppositional orientation. The spectators themselves do not want us to give the floor to “Lukashists”. otherwise “, – Yerusalimskaya responds to the claims.

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