As the host of the NTV weekly news show Itogi in the 1990s, he became one of the nation's best known television journalists, criticizing government corruption and President Boris Yeltsin.

In 2001, he left NTV following its takeover by the state-controlled company Gazprom, serving briefly as general manager of TV-6 before the government refused to renew its broadcasting license in January 2002.

He began his broadcast career with the Persian service of Radio Moscow in 1984, moving to television three years later.

He became famous in 1991 when he refused to report official Soviet news as the USSR was losing control of the Baltic states.

[5] During this period, he hosted the popular weekly news show Itogi ("Results") on the independent station NTV.

[3] Kiselyov described Itogi's politics as "anti-Communist, pro-reform and pro-democracy", and it specialized in investigating government corruption.

[8] As NTV's managing director, Kiselyov was active in protests when a Russian court gave control of the station to the state-controlled company Gazprom,[9] describing the takeover as an attempt by the government of Vladimir Putin to suppress dissent.

NTV's journalists condemned the cull, stating that the "ultimate goal of this meeting is the imposing of full political control over us".

[13] Kiselyov called it a "television coup" showing that the authorities' "single goal" was to "gag" the station.

[15] The new station, TVS, soon ran into financial difficulties and quarrels between shareholders, and was closed by the government in June 2003 on the grounds of "viewers' interests".