How to “Survive” in Today's Ukrainian Media Landscape: Advice for Bloggers

A recap of a panel with Ukrainian bloggers at the Book Arsenal festival.

This year's Book Arsenal festival, held May 29 – June 1 at the Old Arsenal in Kyiv, brought together more than 100 major and 11 small publishers, six themed book stands, and partner exhibitions from military and volunteer initiatives.

Over the festival's 3.5 days, it was visited by about 30,000 people, and the event program included more than 200 events — discussions, readings, workshops, meetings with authors, book presentations, music, and performances.

The DeTalks team attended one such panel, 'Broadcasting What Matters: How to Find Quality Ukrainian Content for Teenagers.' The speakers were bloggers Max Nahorniak (Bezodnya Music) and Vitalii Hordiienko (Zahin Kinomaniv), along with writer Anastasiia Nikulina.

On the particular features of today's Ukrainian media landscape, working with content, and advice for bloggers — read on in this article.

Comments from Max Nahorniak, Vitalii Hordiienko, and other exclusives from the Book Arsenal festival can be found on DeTalks' Telegram channel.

Content for Teenagers: What It Should Look Like

According to the speakers, teenagers today are the most active audience online. At the same time, as Maksym Nahorniak noted, the younger generation increasingly gravitates toward low-quality content, as shown by Ukrainian music charts featuring Russian performers and Russian bloggers being recommended on social media.

Nahorniak has said he believes it's essential for Ukrainian children to grow up within a Ukrainian context, noting that teenagers' information 'bubbles' are currently full of Russian content, through which Russia implants its own cultural codes, adding that this is exactly why the Ukrainian media space lacks even 'mindless' content, and needs Ukrainians willing to make it.

This isn't about lowering quality, but about content that resonates with young people while remaining fully Ukrainian in spirit and form. Writer Anastasiia Nikulina backed up this view.

Nikulina has said Ukrainian content creators are missing humor, and that they need to find ways to reach teenagers by speaking the language they understand and love, adding that this could include books too — manga, manhwa, graphic novels — saying anything is possible if you give people a choice.

Maksym Nahorniak confirmed having this same experience communicating with young people.

Nahorniak has recalled visiting schools and talking with eleventh-graders, saying that to really reach them, the team had to speak their language and put on a flashy presentation, a real show, adding that once they did, the students opened up — sharing their thoughts, smiling, showing interest.

On Today's Media Landscape and Creators' Responsibility

"What harms the Ukrainian media space? The Russian media space!" is how Vitalii Hordiienko summed up the state of the Ukrainian media space, concisely and clearly.

Maksym Nahorniak backed him up, pointing to another problem — an oversaturation of repetitive content, podcasts in particular.

Nahorniak has noted that there are now a huge number of podcasts — every project seems to have one — with fierce competition and no clear sense of what's worth listening to, calling it an overcrowded space.

The speakers also placed special emphasis on the role of media producers — people who've already built a path on YouTube or other platforms, understand the algorithms, and can strategically guide a project toward success.

The creator of Zahin Kinomaniv has said that he, for example, doesn't just work on his own channel but also helps friends, adding that in the future, he'd like to work specifically as a producer, though that will take time.

He has added that not everyone has the persistence to see results through, but that producers who do can become recognizable very quickly, thanks to the results of their work.

Nahorniak also highlighted the problem of a lack of support for young people, saying there are plenty of teenagers already ready to create content, and that what's needed are producers who can find young talent and guide them.

Advice for Beginning Bloggers: The Path, the Mistakes, and Growth

During the discussion, the speakers also addressed those just starting to create content and build an audience.

Vitalii Hordiienko has described a long stretch where everything feels bad, explaining that at the start, things never turn out exactly as they look in your head, adding that experience does eventually come, but the process takes time.

He has said there will be plenty of moments where you look back and think, 'God, what was I doing?' but that you can't skip years ahead all at once, adding that if you believe it's truly yours, it will happen eventually.

Hordiienko also advised paying attention not just to audience reactions, but to your own feelings as well.

He has said to analyze what resonates with your audience and what you personally enjoy doing, stressing that you have to enjoy what you're making, and that the most important thing is to keep going, since the real interest lies in the journey, not the outcome.

He has added that you should always look for the problem within yourself too — asking what's falling short in your content, and what you can do to keep developing.

The guests agreed that when working on content, it's worth seeking out not just support, but also unbiased feedback. Maksym Nahorniak, for instance, proposed the following approach.

He has suggested showing your material not just to your mom or friends, but trying it out on casual acquaintances who aren't especially invested.

What Shapes Creators: The Speakers' Recommendations

The Book Arsenal audience also asked the speakers about their sources of inspiration. In response, Max Nahorniak, Vitalii Hordiienko, and Anastasiia Nikulina rattled off the following.

• Music: the album Nova Era by The Maneken, Ukrainian electronic music, Michael Jackson, Radiohead (Max Nahorniak); Boombox, Okean Elzy (Vitalii Hordiienko); Tartak, Linkin Park (Anastasiia Nikulina).
• Film: "Fincher Kubrick'd", "My Thoughts on Film", every Sherlock Holmes movie and show (Vitalii Hordiienko);
• Literature: 'Fantastychni talk(s)' ('Fantastic Talks'), Mariia Marmulis, Andrii Novik, the book The Chronicles of Narnia (all — Anastasiia Nikulina).

Comments from Max Nahorniak, Vitalii Hordiienko, and other exclusives from the Book Arsenal festival can be found on DeTalks' Telegram channel.