Martin Kuz (right) with Petro Vovk, a farmer in the village of Mistky in western Ukraine, July 2022. Credit: Violetta Pedorych.
On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia sent an estimated 150,000 troops into Ukraine in hopes of swiftly deposing the government. It didn’t go so well. Ukraine, flush with weapons and aid from Western countries, pushed back, stalling out Russia’s advances, resulting in what has become a prolonged stalemate. Both sides have dug in along the front lines, giving little ground to the other. Nearly two years on, Russia still controls roughly 18 percent of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. There’s no end to the war in sight.
Which explains why many in the media have moved on. Little has changed on the ground in Ukraine in months, while the Israel-Hamas war is expanding across the Middle East, demanding more attention. But reporters like Martin Kuz don’t want to people to forget about Ukraine. The Sacramento-based freelancer has traveled to Ukraine four times since the war broke out, first as a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, then as a self-financed writer interested in capturing the stories of average Ukrainians. He dug into his savings for one trip, which was a financial hit.
Then he came up with an idea: Why not crowdfund his reporting? If nonprofits can fund journalism, asking donors and members for money to finance good journalism, why not a freelancer? So, he set up a GoFundMe page and asked for help. He’s received nearly $19,000 in donations, allowing him to go back to Ukraine two more times.
With the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine looming, JMM talked to Kuz about his reasonings for focusing on Ukraine, his unique form of financing, and the kinds of stories he’s been able to tell because of it.
JMM: You have roughly 30 years of experience in the business. You’ve been a daily newspaper reporter, an alt.weekly editor, a magazine staff writer, and a war correspondent. You’ve written about seemingly everything. But since 2021, you’ve made Ukraine your focus. Why?
Kuz: It’s because of my family background. My father was from Ukraine. I still have family in Ukraine. In the run-up to the wide-scale invasion, I felt really for the first time in my career like this is the subject for me to expend all my time and energy on. I've felt passionate about a lot of stories over the years and about different subjects, but because of the personal dimension, this cuts deeper than anything else. So, I've continued to devote my attention to Ukraine. Coverage has dropped off. Global attention has dropped off. And clearly, the war in Israel deserves attention. But I feel it's my own sort of mission to continue writing and talking about Ukraine.
JMM: But after two years, why should the wider world still be paying attention to Ukraine?
Kuz: Because it's a struggle of democracy versus authoritarianism. I don't think it's an exaggeration to describe the Russian state under (President Vladimir) Putin as a fascist state. So, if you have a belief in free speech, a free press, and freedom of ideas, then the war in Ukraine should matter, too. Every single day, when you log onto your computer, you have a firehose of news and information coming at you. It’s natural that, after a time, people move on. But in my mind, the war in Ukraine is an inflection point. This is where the liberal world order stands in opposition to the march of authoritarianism that we're seeing around the world.
JMM: If I'm remembering correctly, you've done two reporting trips to Ukraine, right?
Kuz: I’m actually up to four. I did two in 2022, and two more in 2023.
JMM: How did you engineer all those trips?
Kuz: The first one came about more traditionally. In late 2021, when the headlines were consistently showing that Russia was amassing troops on the border of Ukraine, I contacted an editor at the Christian Science Monitor. At the time I was a contributor to the magazine, so I had worked with people there for a while. I asked if they were planning to cover the war should it happen. Their plans were a little hazy. I told them that I was very much planning to get over there because I thought there was a high degree of likelihood that, after the Olympics in February of 2022, which were been held in Beijing, there would be an attack on Ukraine. My logic was simply that China is one of Russia's closest allies, and that Putin wasn't going to step on the Olympic spectacle with his war. I got the green light from the Monitor and flew into Kyiv on February 12 when the sky was still open. The war world would start 12 days later.
JMM: The next trip was different, though, wasn’t it?
Kuz: When I returned that summer, I went back as a freelancer without an explicit relationship with the Monitor. That was simply because I wanted to go after the stories that I thought were the most important and to do them at my own pace. Every news organization has its expectations of not only the kinds of stories it wants but also deadlines. But for me, because of the importance of Ukraine, and I guess my own emotional investment, I didn't want to rush these stories. I felt that, if it was sustainable, I would pursue these, and then when I got back to the United States, I would write them and see if I could find a home for them. It worked well on that trip, but I also recognize that, from a financial standpoint, it was tough to sustain. The cost of these kinds of trips is very high. Not only the travel, but the cost of interpreters, because I don't speak Ukrainian. I work with interpreters when I’m there. They double as drivers and logistics coordinators. They're tremendous. It's almost an insult to say that they're a tremendous help, especially since they are also dealing with the impacts of the war on them and their families. They're more like equal working partners.
JMM: After that second trip was when you launched the GoFundMe page then?
Kuz: Yes. At the end of 2022, I knew wanted to continue reporting on a war. But I also knew I had a pretty high financial hill to climb. I applied for a fellowship or two. I got rejected. And then I had this idea that I could possibly raise money on my own. That would allow me to return to Ukraine and give me the autonomy I’d like to have in pursuing these stories. I talked it over with my partner, and she was very encouraging and said I should go for it. I think I put my total amount requested at $3000. When I flipped the switch on, I was just stunned. Within the first month, there were $10,000 in donations. I was absolutely floored. I felt like this was an affirmation that people care about this country. They want to see Ukraine prevail, see democracy prevail. And that put a lot of wind in my sails. So often as reporters, we write stories and even after they're published, there's no ripple. You sort of wonder if it was just a drop into the void. And in this case, it was a little bit of a reversal in that, even before a story was written people were saying, ‘Yes, we want to read the stories. We want you to go to Ukraine and tell the stories of everyday Ukrainians.’ And the donations have climbed to over $18,000, where they stand today.
JMM: That must mean a lot.
Kuz: It’s incredibly humbling—incredibly humbling that people would say, you know, I will not only support you verbally, but I will contribute to the cause, and trust in your storytelling abilities to bring these stories back to the United States and tell us about them. And the stories I write, they’re for a general audience. But I also file a lot of dispatches that are just really meant for the donors. I want to tell them this is what I'm doing, to give them a glimpse on the ground of what everyday Ukrainians are going through.
JMM: Like you said, having freedom as a reporter is rare. Did having that financial freedom change how you approached stories?
Kuz: I wanted to show that the echoes of history are relevant in the present moment, which is not something we often think much about in this country. We see history in bursts. And I think that word, history, implies a kind of distance for Americans. But in the rest of the world history is actually quite close. So, for instance, in Ukraine, most people you talk to either lived in the Soviet Union while it still existed or are the children of those who lived in the Soviet Union. And there is this handing down of the historical record that is very much in the minds of Ukrainians as they're facing, once again, this terrible Russian aggression. So, my feeling was that this investment, this GoFundMe campaign, was a kind of confirmation that these are the stories that people are interested.
JMM: You were also a war correspondent in Afghanistan. Did that experience impact how you approached your coverage in Ukraine?
Kuz: In Afghanistan, when I was covering the war there, I had spent a lot of time focusing on the military angle. I was a staff writer with Stars and Stripes magazine then, so that made sense. But one regret I have about my coverage there is that I didn't spend more time sharing the experiences of Afghans. I did some of that, but I wish I had more. So, with Ukraine, the idea is to essentially help you understand what it might be like for you if you suddenly found yourself attacked for nothing more than existing as a sovereign nation. I see the campaign and the incredible amount that people have been willing to invest in my reporting as a kind of collective desire to continue hearing the stories about these people. And I hope, you know, that it is also something that sustains concern and interest, concern for Ukrainians and interest in their cause.
To read some of Kuz’s reporting in Ukraine, check out his author page at the Christian Science Monitor. JMM also recommends “The Long Way Home,” which appeared in Sactown magazine, Sacramento’s city mag, as well as “In Eastern Ukraine, the War Between the Past and the Present,” from PostIndustrial, and “Once Again, Russian Tyranny is Forcing Young men in Ukraine Toward a Moral Precipice,” from News Line magazine, which both capture that sense of history impacting today’s world.
* This interview was modified for length and clarity.
A Storm is Brewing
New semester, new issue. That, of course, means Drake Mag needs you and your big brain full of ideas. To tap into that melon of masterpieces, the staff will be hosting a brainstorming session for the spring issue on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. in Meredith 124C. The session will involve coming up with story ideas for the print issue and social media. As always, the meeting is open to anyone interested in being a part of an award-winning publication. Please contact Editor-in-Chief Nate Eisenmann (nate.eisenmann@drake.edu) if you can't attend but are still interested.
More Stormy Weather
Speaking of brainstorming, Drake Political Review is also hosting a session soon, this time Mon., Feb. 5. The university’s nexus of political deep think wants you to bring your best bits of spin to Mere. 104 (the Bright College room) at 8 p.m. As previously mentioned, the meeting is open to anyone interested in being a part of another of Drake’s award-winning publications (seriously, we win a lot of awards; see below). You can contact Editor-in-Chief Madeline Crawford (madeline.crawford@drake.edu) if you have questions.
Seriously Stormy
Not to be left out in the cold, Drake Broadcasting System’s “What the Dog Doin’?” is looking for your help as well. The biweekly news show focused on campus events is looking to expand its staff, particularly those interested in covering feature stories. You’ll have an opportunity to host, write, film, interview, and report—basically all the things. If you’re interested, email Executive Producer Emma Stroner (emma.stroner@drake.edu) with your questions.
Summer Situation
Yes, it’s still January. And yes, summer is months away. But that doesn’t you can right it off like a Margot Robbie Oscar. Internship application deadlines are passing by every day. While JMM tries to keep you up to date on some important positions, this Google internship calendar, maintained by Mandy Hofmockel of the great Substack Journalism Jobs and a Photo of My Dog, is a great resource to keep up to date on some internship deadlines. And remember, no one gets a job they didn’t apply for. Happy hunting.
Bring on the Bling
The Iowa College Media Awards are always a little cheeky. Before their big awards ceremony Thurs., Feb. 8, at 5 p.m., they let you know you’ve won something, but they tell you want. It’s all to build suspense, of course. So, we’ll have to wait and see what exactly the 15 people on the impressive list below have won. Until then, just assume they’re champions already.
Grace Altenhofen (MMJ, ‘23)
Kendra Curry (Mags, MMJ, ‘23)
Nate Eisenmann (MMJ, Senior)
Nora Felder (DMP, MMJ, ‘23)
Hannah Gromen (DMP, PR, ‘23)
Sydney Hamilton (MMJ, PR, ’23)
Princess Hart (GD, ‘23)
Maria Heath (PR, Eng, Junior)
Kathryn Pagel (Mags, ‘23)
Annie Peterson (Mags, ‘23)
Lincoln Roch (MMJ, Junior)
Caroline Siebels-Lindquist (MMJ, Pols, Soph)
Divyanshi Srivastava (Bio, Neuro, Soph)
Lily Wasserman (MMJ, Hist, Junior)
CJ Younger (MMJ, ’23)
Got a snowy tale to tell?
Do you have some essential info or did your Urban Plains story “The Forgotten Law” place in the Hearst Explanatory Journalism Top 20 like alumni Julia Jennings’s (Mags, PR, ‘23) did? If so, send it on over to jeff.inman@drake.edu. JMM will treat it like this great Washington Post story about a man who built a $1 million stereo and tell everyone about it.
Finally, let’s all start the semester off right.