The Tradition of Anonymity in the Lviv Herald

By Matthew Parish, Editor-in-Chief

Readers of the Lviv Herald will have observed a distinctive editorial convention. The greater majority of the newspaper’s articles are published without a by-line, though a minority are attributed to named authors. This practice is deliberate, rooted in both tradition and editorial philosophy, and it merits explanation.

The principal reason for anonymity is to emphasise that much of the Herald’s content represents a collective voice rather than the personal view of a single journalist. Where we offer analyses of international affairs, reports from the front line, or editorial essays on subjects of public concern, we do so as an institution. The absence of an author’s name underscores that the argument or observation is not the product of one individual’s private opinion but of a broader editorial process, refined and approved by the newspaper as a whole.

This practice situates the Lviv Herald within a long European journalistic tradition. From the early pamphleteers of the Enlightenment to the leader columns of the Times of London, anonymity has been used to confer authority and to remind readers that the ideas belong to the publication rather than to any single pen.

A second consideration is protection. Journalism in times of war is never free from danger. Ukrainian writers who report with candour upon the brutality of the invasion, the hardships of displacement, or the failures of policy, sometimes do so at personal risk. Anonymity provides a layer of safety, ensuring that critical voices can be heard without exposing individual authors to retaliation or intimidation.

Anonymity also serves to focus attention where it belongs: upon substance rather than personality. In an age when journalism elsewhere is too often reduced to celebrity commentary, the Lviv Herald insists that arguments should stand upon their own merit. Readers may agree or disagree with our assessments, but they cannot dismiss them merely by reference to an author’s identity or reputation.

Nevertheless not all our articles are anonymous. Interviews, features, and certain opinion pieces are signed. There are several reasons for this. Some contributions are best understood in the light of an author’s expertise or personal experience. An interview conducted by a correspondent, or a reflective essay by a scholar, gains weight and colour from the reader’s knowledge of who has written it. In such cases, transparency demands attribution.

Moreover some of our writers wish to take personal responsibility for particular arguments, and the Herald respects their choice. Where individuality adds credibility or context, we make space for names alongside titles.

The balance we strike between anonymity and attribution reflects our editorial philosophy. The majority of our coverage is institutional: rigorous analysis and careful commentary produced by a team and offered under the newspaper’s voice. A smaller proportion is personal: the testimony of correspondents, the insights of experts, or the perspectives of contributors whose names deserve recognition.

The practice of anonymity at the Lviv Herald is not an attempt to obscure authorship but a deliberate editorial decision. It emphasises collective responsibility, protects writers in dangerous times, and directs attention to substance rather than celebrity. Yet we also recognise the value of the individual voice, and so some articles carry names where attribution adds meaning.

In this balance between the institutional and the personal lies the distinctive identity of the Lviv Herald: a publication that speaks as both a community and as a collection of individual voices, united in the pursuit of truth and analysis in difficult times.