simon ostrovsky
PBS NewsHour
Special Correspondent
Developing story:
war in
ukraine
Aug 10
Patriotic tattoos become a liability for Ukrainians amid reports of Russian torture
July 26
Russia ramps up long-range strikes as Ukraine gets precision weapons
June 20
Surviving Russia’s ‘Filtration Camps’
April 22
Execution-style killings, mass graves mark bloody scenes in Ukraine
April 16
journey to transnistria: inside russia's disinformation bubble
April 12
Residents outside kyiv process the horrors of russian occupation
April 8
More evidence of Russian war crimes as the West pledges aid to Ukraine
April 6
Russian retreat from areas around Kyiv reveals 'pattern of apparent war crimes'
April 5
Russian withdrawal from Bucha exposes atrocities against Ukrainian civilians
March 5
Heirlooms, clothes, pets: Ukrainians flee to Poland amid Russian bombardment
Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka

Awards

simon ostrovsky

Simon Ostrovsky is a PBS NewsHour Special Correspondent and an award-winning freelance news and documentary producer. This year Simon was awarded a Knight Wallace Reporting Fellow from the University of Michigan to work on a series of reports on countering disinformation. He has covered the uprising in Belarus, the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as the Covid pandemic in Brazil for the NewsHour, and that’s just in the last year. He also works frequently with the Pulitzer Center to bring underreported stories to American audiences. Going further back, Simon is known for his coverage of the crisis in Crimea and the war in Ukraine for VICE News. His series, Russian Roulette, was nominated for two Emmys and went to over 100 episodes that have been viewed more than 35 million times. David Carr of the New York Times called his work “remarkable” and VICE News liked his dispatches so much they applied the template to their reporting from around the world, giving it the raw feel they're known for today.


In 2015, Simon’s documentary Selfie Soldiers was awarded the prestigious Columbia University Du Pont award. The investigation, carried out over several months, tracked a careless Russian soldier who was fighting in Ukraine and posting selfies in his spare time and proved Russia was sending troops to the conflict despite Moscow’s denials. In 2013, Simon was a producer for the VICE on HBO series, helping it earn an Emmy as an Outstanding Informational Series. But not everyone is a fan of his work. Some militants in eastern Ukraine kidnapped him, and kept him in a cellar for three days while he was covering the war there. Here’s how he described the experience after he was released.

Simon Ostrovsky is a PBS NewsHour Special Correspondent and an award-winning freelance news and documentary producer. This year Simon was awarded a Knight Wallace Reporting Fellow from the University of Michigan to work on a series of reports on countering disinformation. He has covered the uprising in Belarus, the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as the Covid pandemic in Brazil for the NewsHour, and that’s just in the last year. He also works frequently with the Pulitzer Center to bring underreported stories to American audiences. Going further back, Simon is known for his coverage of the crisis in Crimea and the war in Ukraine for VICE News. His series, Russian Roulette, was nominated for two Emmys and went to over 100 episodes that have been viewed more than 35 million times. David Carr of the New York Times called his work “remarkable” and VICE News liked his dispatches so much they applied the template to their reporting from around the world, giving it the raw feel they're known for today.

In 2015, Simon’s documentary Selfie Soldiers was awarded the prestigious Columbia University Du Pont award. The investigation, carried out over several months, tracked a careless Russian soldier who was fighting in Ukraine and posting selfies in his spare time and proved Russia was sending troops to the conflict despite Moscow’s denials. In 2013, Simon was a producer for the VICE on HBO series, helping it earn an Emmy as an Outstanding Informational Series. But not everyone is a fan of his work. Some militants in eastern Ukraine kidnapped him, and kept him in a cellar for three days while he was covering the war there. Here’s how he described the experience after he was released.