In a statement published today, Schibsted announced an emergency relief plan to support independent news media in Ukraine:

We’ve all been moved by the remarkable bravery and perseverance of the Ukrainian people. We’ve seen new sparks of unity within the global and European community, reminding us that in a crisis like this we’re all European and global citizens first, and national citizens second.

Since the invasion, we’ve also been deeply affected by the horrors of the war

In Schibsted, we have people working as consultants in Ukraine and we have colleagues with relatives and friends in besieged cities. We’ve had reporters on the ground, doing the incredibly important job of covering the war. Some of our colleagues have also assisted with the humanitarian side of the conflict, helping refugees on the Polish-Ukrainian border

Several Schibsted brands and companies have initiated their own initiatives. For instance, Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet and Omni have joined the Swedish news media in a joint appeal for democracy and freedom of expression in favour of free and independent media in Russia and Ukraine.

These are some of our current main current activities:

• Our top priority is being a solid owner of independent news media, which are free and able to provide journalism and report from the war. Nothing we do as a family of brands is more important than the objective, faithful and oftentimes dangerous reporting that our media brands provide.
• Schibsted will donate NOK 1 million (100,000 Euros) to support independent Ukrainian news media, in cooperation with the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the International Press Institute (IPI). We’ve made this decision because our ambition as a company is to empower people in their daily lives and work towards a society based on trust and transparency, including the European and global communities.
• We’ve also given our 300 employees in Poland time off to engage in humanitarian work. “This is a direct and nice thing to be able to do,” says our CEO Kristin Skogen Lund.

Schibsted is in itself an international community. We operate mostly in the Nordic markets, but our own family is made up of people from all over the world, including Ukrainian and Russian colleagues, and we remain a family of colleagues for all Schibsted employees.