America’s largest news outlets have sent dozens of journalists to Eastern Europe to cover the Ukraine crisis, with hundreds more contributing to coverage behind the scenes.
Over the past couple of days, Press Gazette has surveyed CNN, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Fox News and other outlets to find out how they are covering Russia’s invasion and how many reporters they have on the ground.
Washington Post foreign editor Douglas Jehl said that his news organisation currently has “more people covering a single conflict than at any time since the Arab Spring”.
“The extent of this coverage reflects the magnitude of the story as well as the [Post’s] commitment to international coverage,” he said. “Our on-the-ground presence and commitment to fact-based reporting provides an ability for us to illuminate the truth of what is unfolding, at a time when misinformation is rife.”
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In a note to Wall Street Journal staff this week, editor-in-chief Matt Murray said: “Virtually every team in the newsroom has been touched by the story and has contributed to it. Hundreds of you have been directly engaged in reporting, editing, producing, presenting and sharing our journalism.”
Below is our round-up of how America’s largest news organisations are reporting on Ukraine. This adds to our coverage of UK outlets in Ukraine.
The information we have is fast-moving and not fully comprehensive. If you have any information for us to add, please email pged@pressgazette.co.uk.
CNN
As of Wednesday 2 March, CNN had in Kyiv: senior international correspondent Matthew Chance, chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward, senior national security correspondent Alex Marquardt, senior international correspondent Sam Kiley, international correspondent Scott McLean and Valencia-based freelancer Atika Schubert.
Presenter Anderson Cooper, chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto and correspondent Michael Holmes were also in the capital anchoring shows for CNN’s US and international editions.
Outside Kyiv, CNN’s international security editor Nick Paton Walsh was in Odessa on Ukraine’s south coast.
Elsewhere in the region, international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson and longtime former CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty were in Moscow.
Senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen was in Belgorod Oblast on Russia’s border with eastern Ukraine. Senior national correspondent Sara Sidner was in Poland, senior international correspondent Arwa Damon was at the border of Ukraine and Poland covering the refugee situation and fellow senior international correspondent Ivan Watson was in Hungary.
Including drivers and local interpreters, CNN International boss Mike McCarthy said last week that the network had 75 people in Ukraine.
CNN has collated much of its most reporting from the invasion here.
The Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal staff in Kyiv, as of Monday 28 February, included chief foreign affairs correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov and risk manager Stevo Stephen.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, coverage was being provided by Israel and Palestinian Territories correspondent Tom Grove and Moscow-based reporter Matthew Luxmoore.
Around the region, Moscow bureau chief Ann Simmons was reporting from the Russian capital, Moscow correspondent Evan Gershkovich from Belarus, and senior reporter Drew Hinshaw from the Polish border.
In a note sent to the Wall Street Journal newsroom on Monday 28 February, editor-in-chief Matt Murray praised numerous divisions for their involvement in covering the invasion.
“Virtually every team in the newsroom has been touched by the story and has contributed to it,” he said.
“Hundreds of you have been directly engaged in reporting, editing, producing, presenting and sharing our journalism. Many are working long days and nights, and a few are working under extreme and even perilous circumstances.
“Some laid the groundwork for coverage of the invasion through weeks of thoughtful planning and smart journalism. The result has been an extraordinary run of memorable and impactful work, from our website to the paper, from video and audio to art and graphics.”
The New York Times
New York Times national correspondent Sabrina Tavernise tweeted on Thursday 3 March that she, Moscow correspondent Valerie Hopkins and six other colleagues had spent the night in Vytivtsi in central Ukraine.
Michael Slackman, international assistant managing editor, said: “We have had a team of journalists in Ukraine and Russia bearing witness to the unfolding conflict. Additionally, we have mobilised journalists in our bureaus worldwide to support those on the ground and report reactions from across the globe.”
The NYT’s coverage includes mapping the movements of Russian forces, keeping readers abreast of developments through a dedicated newsletter, and offering advice on talking about the war to kids and helping those affected. It is also keeping a live blog, which pulls in reporting from Times journalists, photographers, audio producers and videographers both on the ground and in supporting bureaus.
The Washington Post
Douglas Jehl, the Post’s foreign editor, said that, as of Wednesday 2 March, the organisation had nine correspondents on the ground across Ukraine, including a staff photographer and three videographers. The Post, therefore, had “more people covering a single conflict than at any time since the Arab Spring”.
Jehl said: “The coverage is being led by Moscow correspondent Isabelle Khurshudyan, a fluent Russian speaker who is now in Kharkiv, and includes Siobhan O’Grady, our Cairo bureau chief; Loveday Morris, our Berlin bureau chief; and Sudarsan Raghavan, a correspondent at large who specialises in conflict zone coverage.
“Our team is spread across the breadth of Ukraine, from Liviv to Dnipro, and includes David Stern, a Kyiv–based reporter and other local help. (The photographer, Salwan Georges, and one videographer, Whitney Leaming, are with Isabelle in Kharkiv; another videographer, Whitney Shefte, is with Siobhan and Sudarsan in Kyiv; a third, Jon Gerberg, is in western Ukraine with Loveday.)”
Meanwhile, Moscow bureau chief Robyn Dixon and Mary Ilyushina, a Moscow-based reporter, was reporting from southern Russia.
The Post first sent a “large team” into Ukraine a month ago, said Jehl, “as it became clear that events were headed to war”.
He added: “The extent of this coverage reflects the magnitude of the story as well as the [Post’s] commitment to international coverage. Our on-the-ground presence and commitment to fact-based reporting provides an ability for us to illuminate the truth of what is unfolding, at a time when misinformation is rife.”
The Post’s multimedia reporting includes live updates, Washington Post Live programming, Post Reports podcast episodes and updates on TikTok.
NPR
On Wednesday 2 March, NPR launched a new daily podcast called State of Ukraine.
In a press release announcing the podcast, NPR said: “In recent weeks listeners have heard familiar NPR voices reporting from the conflict zone: All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly and Morning Edition hosts Rachel Martin, A Martinez and Leila Fadel co-hosted NPR’s news magazines live from Ukraine. International correspondents Frank Langfitt, Eleanor Beardsley and Lauren Frayer have also been reporting from across the country, as well as Tim Mak. Joanna Kakissis, Daniel Estrin and Rob Schmitz reported from Ukraine in the buildup to the invasion.
“None of this could have happened without the essential and tireless work of producers Greg Dixon, Monika Evstatieva and Ian Stewart, who have managed NPR’s work in the region.
“The news magazine teams were supported by producers Lisa Weiner, Reena Advani, Kat Lonsdorf, Jonaki Mehta, Graham Smith and Arezou Rezvani.”
Fox News
Fox News’ coverage from Ukraine is being led by foreign correspondent Trey Yingst and state department correspondent Benjamin Hall from Kyiv.
On Thursday 3 March, Yingst attended a press conference held by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
He said: “Today we were part of a smart group of journalists invited to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, getting more insight into the mind of a man who is currently leading his country in a war against Russia.
“It was a very last-minute thing. We were given a location to meet and then we got to the location and were quickly ushered into vans and driven to a final spot where the small press conference took place.
“I won’t go into details about the location because it’s a security risk to the Ukrainian president, he’s had credible threats against his life as the Russians reportedly sent a Chechen hit squad to come and kill him.”
International correspondent Mike Tobin, Pentagon correspondent Lucas Tomlinson and chief correspondent Jonathan Hunt have been reporting live from Lviv, the Ukrainian city where the US embassy moved its operations.
Fox Business Network’s Connell McShane is contributing to coverage and reporting from Poland.
National security correspondent Jennifer Griffin is leading coverage from the Pentagon and White House correspondent Peter Doocy is also contributing.
On Thursday 3 March, Fox News ran a two-hour special co-anchored by Shannon Bream and Benjamin Hall. Hall anchored live from Kyiv.
Reuters
Reuters said that on the first day of the invasion its customers “used more Reuters footage than on any single day in more than two years. In addition, social views of Reuters video topped 347 million views last week, one of the highest levels seen on a running story.”
The agency is assisting with fact-checking efforts by verifying authentic imagery flowing around social media, and will run an event on Thursday 3 March in which a panel of Reuters editors will discuss the war and its repercussions.
Associated Press
The AP said on Monday 28 February it had approximately two dozen people around Ukraine, some of them providing live reporting for broadcasters elsewhere. The wire agency already had a full-time bureau in Kyiv before the invasion.
Los Angeles Times
As of Thursday 3 March, the LA Times had two journalists in Ukraine – foreign correspondent and photographer Marcus Yam, and Nabih Bulos, Middle East bureau chief.
USA Today
Gannett told Press Gazette it has a network of USA Today journalists on the Poland-Ukraine border and freelance reporters providing coverage in Ukraine and Moscow.
The day the invasion began USA Today graphics editor Karina Zaiets filmed herself giving an account of her evacuation from Ukraine, which was published cut with footage Zaiets filmed while leaving the country.
The paper ran a Twitter Spaces conversation with its journalists discussing the war the same day, and has supplemented its coverage with fact-checks and commentary from people caught in the warpath.
USA Today has a daily newsletter dedicated to the crisis.
Vice
Vice told Press Gazette it had teams across the region, with Vice News correspondent Matthew Cassel in Kyiv and Vice News international correspondent Ben Solomon in southern Ukraine as of Monday. Contributor Alec Luhn was arrested in Moscow while covering anti-war protests for Vice World News.
Buzzfeed News
As of Monday 28 February Buzzfeed News had its national security and extremism correspondent Christopher Miller on the ground in Ukraine, accompanied by three local freelancers.
See our full list of UK coverage here.
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