0629.com.ua chief editor: We can not even rebrand

The Mariupol online news outlet 0629.com.ua cannot rebrand and report on other cities and on other topics because covering life in Mariupol is the media outlet's whole concept, said chief editor Anna Murlykina to the Institute of Mass Information representative Valentyna Troyan.

"Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to be inside the city. And this is a big problem for hyperlocal media. Because we can't even rebrand. We can't do it, because our whole concept, our everything, is being the city's website. And rebranding means simply inventing another name and essentially starting from scratch. This is not the way for us," the editor explained.

Anna Murlykina, chief editor of the Mariupol online outlet 0629.com.ua. Photo by Anna Murlykina on Facebook

She says that the news outlet now reports the stories of people who remain in Mariupol, writes about their thoughts and hopes.

"It's difficult, it's the most difficult part of the job, but we're doing everything we can. We report on people who left the occupation and were able to rebuild their lives. Not necessarily by starting a business from scratch. They were just able to make a life. I was very touched, you know, recently a user wrote in the comments in our Telegram channel: 'You should interview some Mariupol refugee, who moves from one apartment to another, who has a hard time earning money, lives by the penny, is poor and in hardship", says Anna.

She says their outlet mainly writes about this, but not about those "who are in hardship", because most of the people of Mariupol are in this state.

"Because we are all in hardship. I, like all other Mariupol people, have no home of my own, I have no property, I am very dependent on my small salary. But we try to look for stories not about how bad things are, but about those who have the strength to fight for their own lives," stressed the editor.

In June 2024, Anna Murlykina, chief editor of the Mariupol local news outlet 0629.com.ua, became a new member of the Commission on Journalistic Ethics.

After the start of Russia's full-scale Russian of Ukraine, the Russians targeted the media outlet's website. The hackers tried to change the outlet's logo to the Russian flag.

Also, the site's editors have received emails from Russians threatening them with imprisonment in Siberia.