As efforts to strengthen independent journalism intensify in Ukraine, PMG.ua has been awarded the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) certification, becoming the first media outlet in Transcarpathia to reach this international standard. The achievement reflects the growing adoption of JTI across the country, supported by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and partners to promote transparency, independence and accountability in the media sector.
“At a time when access to reliable and transparent information is more critical than ever, we congratulate the PMG.ua team on this important achievement. As the first JTI-certified media in Transcarpathia, they are leading by example for the region and contributing to reshaping the future media landscape of Ukraine.”
Benjamin Sabbah, director of Journalism Trust Initiative
“For PMG.ua, this certification is an important confirmation that, even as a regional media outlet, we operate according to high journalistic standards and adhere to the principles of independence. For us, this is not a mere formality, but a systematic effort that we began long before the audit.
At the same time, we are proud to be the first media in Transcarpathia to achieve this level of certification, and we plan to use our own example to show our colleagues that this is an important and responsible step for the development of quality journalism. Tools like JTI help make media more transparent and strengthen audience trust.”
Ivan Garagonych, editor-in-chief, PMG.ua
The growing footprint of JTI in Ukraine
Since the beginning of the Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine launched on 24 February 2022, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) offers emergency support and works towards long term sustainability of an independent, free and pluralist media ecosystem in Ukraine. With the financial support of the European Union (EU) and in cooperation with local partners, RSF created Press Freedom Centers which provided assistance to over 2 100 journalists and 330 media covering the war as of December 2025.
More specifically, 125 Ukrainian news outlets have benefited from mentoring programs to implement Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI), an ISO-type international standard created at the initiative of RSF in 2019 that promotes transparency, independence and professional accountability of media outlets. 16 of them have successfully been audited by a Ukrainian certification body, Imperium Certific, which granted them the JTI certification for a duration of 2 years. These include city news portal 0372.ua, Detector Media (Детектор медіа), Hromadske Radio (Громадське радіо), I-VIN.info, Intent Press (ІНТЕНТ), LIGA.net (ЛІГА.net), Slobidskyi Krai (Слобідський край), Mind.ua, NikVesti (НикВести), NV.ua and Radio NV (Радіо НВ), Pershiy Kryvorizkiy – 1KR.UA (Перший Криворізький), PMG.ua, ShoTam (ШоТам), Status Quo (Статус-кво) and Visnyk Che (Вісник Ч).
Elevating standards of news media
JTI was developed in 2019 as an ISO-type international standard by roughly 130 experts from media outlets, media regulatory bodies, media associations and digital platforms. They worked to define the criteria of transparency, independence and ethics necessary for an industry standard applicable to all types of news sources. The idea of designing a self-regulatory mechanism applicable to all news sources worldwide was the initiative of the Paris-headquartered media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
The JTI certification process has three stages. First, the introduction to the standard via JTI’s portal. Second, the self-evaluation by the media. Finally, as an option, the certifying audit. More than 2,500 media outlets in 127 countries use JTI. 1,500 are currently undergoing self-assessment, 850 published their transparency report, and 135 obtained JTI certification following an audit.
