A fixer is a local coordinator who helps foreign reporters and other professionals organise their workflow during their stay in the country. In particular, they help them find the right contacts, arrange interviews, navigate the local context, and understand the nuances of working on the ground.
The Institute of Mass Information’s regional hub Mediabaza Chernihiv hosted a webinar titled “Fixers in Recovery Coverage: Their Role, Challenges, and Opportunities” on 24 September that discussed this.
The webinar was by freelance journalist and local producer Artem Perfilov, who spoke about the nuances of the job and about fixers’ role in international journalism.
He said that was not only staff reporters with international news organisations and freelance journalists who made use of fixers’ services, but also documentarists, feature filmmakers, writers, researchers, civil society organisations, and other professionals who need a better understanding of the country and its realities.
Webinar participants discussed the ways fixers help international journalists navigate the Ukrainian context, find subjects for their stories and the right contacts, better understand local realities, and produce more accurate and in-depth coverage.
“For foreign reporters, fixers are a window into Ukraine, explaining the local context to them,” Artem Perfilov remarked.
The discussion also focused on the professional challenges, responsibilities, and working conditions faced by fixers, as well as on safety-related and financial issues.
The attendees also talked about the practical aspects of the job and the nuances of cooperation between Ukrainian fixers and foreign journalists.
“Thanks for the class. It helped clarify some things about the profession of fixer and producer, including safety and financial matters,” shared Svoboda.FM journalist Vladyslav Savenok.
The topic is especially relevant to journalists in Chernihiv oblast as international reporters visit the region increasingly often and local journalists and producers help their foreign colleagues organise filming sessions or find subjects as well as to see the broader Ukrainian context behind individual events.
Svitlana Bilous, communications manager at the Institute of Mass Information’s regional hub Mediabaza Chernihiv
