The supervisory council of Estonia’s public broadcaster, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), has dismissed its long-term chairman, Rein Veidemann, ERR reports. Earlier, Veidemann had criticised an interview of a same-sex couple with two children that was aired on ETV, saying that the programme ran counter to the values of the majority of Estonians. ERR’s supervisory council elected…
Thousands of people gathered outside the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, on 9 December 2025 to protest against planned changes to the management of the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), BNS reports. Location data from mobile operators showed that around 40,000 people took part in the demonstration, DELFI reported. The protesters accused…
Staff at Lithuania’s public broadcaster, Lietuvos Nacionalinis Radijas ir Televizija (LRT), have announced a week-long protest against a proposal to make it easier to remove the company’s director general, LRT reports. During the action, the staff will hold brief moments of silence on air. Also, journalists plan a protest rally outside the Lithuanian parliament, the…
Lithuanian news outlet DELFI hosted its inaugural Most Influential People awards in Vilnius on 2 October 2025, ELTA reports. President Gitanas Nauseda won the award for the most influential politician. Other winners included journalist Edmundas Jakilaitis (media), construction entrepreneur Arvydas Avulis (business), public commentator Andrius Tapinas, Prosecutor General Nida Grunskiene (civil service), and discus thrower…
Several media outlets from Russia moved their editorial offices to Latvia after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, LSM reports. Latvia has since issued over 6,000 visas to Russian citizens, of whom 500 are journalists and their family members. Dace Melbarde, parliamentary secretary at Latvia’s Foreign Ministry, said that giving Russian journalists an…
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze has called for severing economic ties with Russia and Belarus “to the maximum,” LSM reports. She insisted that Latvia must continue to decontaminate itself from Russian influence, stressing that economic security was as important for national security as military security. Braze reiterated the need for robust EU sanctions against Russia…
Latvian public broadcaster LSM’s English-language service is celebrating its tenth anniversary, having launched on 1 July 2014, initially to cover Latvia’s European Council presidency, LSM reports. Despite a small team of just two employees, the service has persisted against expectations, often facing and overcoming threats of closure. It has played a crucial role during events…
Estonia rose two places to 6th place in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), BNS reports. Estonia scored 86.44 points on the index, which was up from 85.31 points in 2023. Latvia ranked 12th (16th) with 82.9 (83.27) points and Lithuania 13th (7th) with 81.73 (86.79) points.
The former editor of Russian propaganda channel Sputnik Lithuania, Marat Kasem (Marats Kasems), admitted that his job was to destabilise Lithuania, LSM reported. Kasem said that his work had nothing to do with journalism, but was pure propaganda under the direction of Russia’s presidential administration. He was recently released on bail from detention in Latvia….
