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Status Quo, a Kharkiv-based local media outlet, reflects on their journey towards the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) certification—an initiative led by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The outlet shares concrete examples of the changes implemented during the certification process, highlighting how these improvements increase its transparency and credibility, and the positive effects it has within the newsroom and among its audience.
In adopting the JTI standard, Status Quo began by carrying out a self-assessment and filling out a questionnaire to assess its “compliance with the current global media market requirements for a transparent media outlet,” as Natalia Kobzar, editor-in-chief of Status Quo, told us. They did an “extensive work with documents: some internal ones were made publicly available, while others were structured and improved. As a result, our website now features an Editorial Policy, a Code of Ethics, a Mission and Values statement, information about ownership structure, and more.“
The JTI certification provides institutional support to media outlets, promoting the adoption of best journalistic practices and delivering tangible benefits such as enhanced editorial policies, formalized internal procedures, and better documentation of workflows. During the audit phase, Kobzar added that they realized that “journalistic standards are not just an ideological guideline but also concrete aspects that should be reflected in editorial policies, website structure, and content presentation methods.”
In this sense, she added that “this also includes rules for interaction among employees, approaches to content and audience, cooperation with government authorities and founders, and many other factors influencing the work of any media outlet. Thanks to the audit, we were able to clarify these aspects: certain issues that were previously understood intuitively gained clear definitions and were formally documented.”
Certified in October 2024, Status Quo is a media company from the Kharkiv region and is one of 100+ media outlets involved in JTI in Ukraine. Of these, 67 have published their transparency reports and 12 obtained their JTI Certification, including I-VIN.info, 0372.ua, Detector Media, Hromadske Radio, Intent Press, LIGA.net, Mind.ua, NikVesti, NV.ua and Radio NV, and Pershiy Kryvorizkiy.
