balcytiene lithuania 20090930 def
TRANSCRIPT
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Lithuania: Professionalism reduced to arithmetic: increase in
business, reduction in journalism
Auks Balytien and Egl Napryt
1. Introduction: media regulation and its impact on journalism
Laissez faire policies implemented in the Lithuanian media legislation in the early 1990s has
brought to controversial results two decades later. Absence of restrictions against different
forms of ownership has opened the media field for different actors. This was especiallyneeded in the early 1990s when the country attempted to nationalize its media system by
privatizing media organizations from within. However, very liberal regulation complemented
with new owners different business aspirations created favorable conditions for market-
oriented logic to proliferate in media production.
The Law on Provision of Information to the Public (first accepted in 1996, new amendments
as of July 2006) has certain provisions that guarantee openness and transparency of media as
well as enable the widest range of views to be put forward. Media legislation also covers the
requirement for political advertising and the procedure for announcing and designating it in
media. Also, according to the law, all media are required to report annually on changes in
their shareholders.
In drafting its legislation Lithuania has followed the practice of the Nordic neighbors.
Lithuania has a so-called regulated system of self-regulation (resembling practice in Sweden).
It also ensures state subsidies to public information producers through the Fund for the
Support of the Press, Radio and Television (Press Fund). Although the budget of the fund is
not big (it was 1.4 million Euros), but by supporting non-commercial production it contributes
to diversification of media output.
Another possibility to correct the so-called market failure seems to be the public funding.
Funding media projects directly by citizens has a particular potential in fostering and
enhancing pluralism, diversity and quality. Since 2005, according to the Law on Income Tax
of Individuals, any natural person may transfer up to 2% of the amount of the income tax paid
to the state to any public institution or business organization (also media companies).
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The public service broadcaster, the Lithuanian Radio and Television (the LRT), is the only
medium which according to the right of ownership belongs to the state. The LRT bases its
activity upon the Law of LRT and the Law on Public Institutions. The activities of LRT are
not licensed. In contrast, persons that desire to engage in broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting
activities must obtain a license from the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania
(RTC). In 2006, a decision to drop down the introduction of the license fee to finance the LRT
was taken leaving the public service broadcaster completely dependent on state subsidies and
commercial advertising.
In this overview, media statistics from 2006 and 2007 is used and media performance is
evaluated on the analysis of nine cases (Table 1).
Table 1 about here
Ten representatives of these media organizations were interviewed: the chief editor of the
regional daily Kauno diena, the chief editor of the tabloid daily Vakaro inios, a journalist
of the free daily 15 minui, the head of the newsroom department of commercial
broadcaster TV3, the head of the TV newsroom department of the LTV (public service TV
channel), the head of the radio newsroom department of LR1 (public service radio), the chief
editor of the commercial radio station ini radijas, the chief editor and the vice-editor of
the Internet news portal Delfi.lt, the chief editor of the Internet news portal Bernardinai.lt.
2. Indicators and scores
(F1). Geographic distribution of news media 2 points
Mainstream news media is equally available to all citizens.
There are no clear differences noticed in the regional or national distribution of mainstream
media. Few exceptions in the use of the Internet can be observed, but the situation is changing
rapidly.
The use of print and Internet media has been growing while individual TV viewing time has
been shrinking since 2004 when Lithuanians watched television 213 minutes per day (Table
2).
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In 2007, one weekly newspaper was read by 71.3% of inhabitants of 15-74 years of age, while
one daily was read by 50.5% of people in the same age group (TNS Gallup). Average
readership of dailies was 58% of inhabitants, weeklies 71% of inhabitants. The tendency of
slowly growing readership of periodicals is noticed during the last few years it increased by
2%.
Table 2 about here
According to the Lithuanian Press statistics of 2007, 328 newspapers and 474 journals were
published in Lithuania. Each inhabitant would get 79 issues of newspapers and 20 journals a
year if divided equally. A great variety of local and regional newspapers may be noticed.
There is a tendency that more newspapers are available in larger regions (with bigger cities,
such as Vilnius and Kaunas with populations of 550.000 and 350.000 respectively), even
though it is not a rule (Table 3).
Table 3 about here
Lithuanians are not the most devoted newspaper readers in Europe. According to the World
Press Trends (2007), the newspapers reach in 2006 was 56.1% which is less than in the
Nordic, but higher than in the Southern European countries.
The majority of dailies in Lithuania follow the middle road. In mainstream dailies serious
things intertwine with popular reports. It is also customary that dailies are published in a
smaller (compact) format. A smaller format does not necessarily indicate that a newspaper isovertly sensational. All newspapers have bright covers, eye-catching headings and
subheadings and many photos. All dailies are published as morning papers. There is no
evening or Sunday press. Lithuania does not have sports daily (sports news as well as other
specialized news are covered by the Internet media). The only free daily (15 minui) has
been published since 2005.
Lietuvos rytas and Respublikos grup, two publishing houses deeply rooted in the press
market, give evidence that the newspaper market is an oligopoly in Lithuania (Table 4). There
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are prospects that a large number of owners and publishers will not endure. Especially in
small media markets, concentration is inevitable.
Table 4 about here
Lithuanian television market consists of 31 television networks, 30 of which are commercial
and one is public (the LRT, broadcasting 3 national television programs LTV, LTV2 and LTV
World). The two of commercial television stations TV3 and LNK are in a strong
competition for audience attention (Table 5).
Table 5 about here
The most money spent for advertising is absorbed by TV sector (43.5%), which allows
different program diversification strategies to apply.
In broadcast sector, cable penetration has remained steady at some 42% of the total
population. In 2006, over 57% of television households were watching TV only via theanalogue terrestrial broadcasting platform. It is expected that TV viewers possibilities to
choose should be widened after the implementation of digital TV. It is planned that in 2009 at
least one network of digital TV should cover at least 95% of the territory of the country.
As for the radio market there are 48 radio stations (11 national, 7 regional and 30 local radio
broadcasters). Except for one station (the public service radio with its three programs) all
stations are profit-driven ventures. In 2006, among the TOP 5 radio programs the LR1 (public
service radio station) is the top popular with 23.2% of market share. The availability ofregional and local radio programs differs greatly in the main cities and smaller regions. If in
Vilnius 15 regional radio stations can be heard, in Kaunas 13, Klaipda 12, iauliai 9,
some regions can hear only few or none at all.
The Internet is the fastest growing media with annual growth of advertising revenue about
50% every year. Aside to online news portals maintained by conventional media, there exists
an abundance of online-only news portals that are taking a full advantage of the existing
opportunities to conquer online audiences by providing breaking news, news analysis,
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interviews and press reviews, blogging, interactive games and other online services of added
value (Table 6).
Table 6 about here
The growth of the Internet and mobile phone users has significantly affected the expansion of
the online news market. In 2005, at least 36% of population accessed the Internet once per 6
months, 130% of population had mobile telephones and 15% of households were connected to
the Internet. In 2006 alone, the Internet connections at home amounted to 32%. In 2007, the
size of online audience has reached 54% of total population of the country and there is a clear
tendency observed that the Internet usage is increasing in the peripheral regions indicating
leveling of Internet media use between bigger and smaller cities of the country.
During recent years, the usage of broadband Internet is growing at high rates. Just in one year
(between 2006 and 2007) the number of households using broadband increased by 14% (from
19% till 34%). These numbers are still smaller than the European average which was 30% in
2006 and 42% in 2007. However, the difference between European and Lithuanian average is
diminishing (from 11% in 2006 till 8% in 2007). Despite fast growth, the conclusion could bemade that only one third of Lithuanian households are enjoying the advantages of broadband
connection.
(F2) Patterns of news media use (consumption) 1 point
The use of entertainment programs dominates among general population; clear differences
exist between media use among better educated and having better income audience groups if
compared to less educated, younger and less economically wealthy consumers.
Age and education as well as income are still considered to be major factors affecting news
media usage patterns. Tabloid dailies (Vakaro inios, L.T.) are far more popular than the
dailies of mid-market (Lietuvos rytas) or higher quality (Kauno diena, Klaipda).
Younger, better educated audiences show preferences in the Internet media consumption,
while no clear age group distribution is noticed in TV news access.
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In the TV sector the highest ratings were reached by entertainment programs, finals of music
shows and broadcasts of basketball games. The ratings of the most popular entertainment
programs range from 29.7% to 20.6%, ratings of movies from 16.1% to 14.9%, while the
ratings of the most popular newscasts on different channels vary from 12.4% to 2.1%.
Comparing this data, it may be noticed that the popularity of entertaining content is up to 3
times higher than that of the newscasts.
In the radio sector, the majority of radio programs belong to the type of entertainment and
present only very short news. However, there are two news-oriented radio stations the first
radio program of the public service broadcaster and ini radijas. The former one is the
leader among radio stations while iniradijas is in the 13th position (2.1%).
Analyzing the usage patterns of Internet, it should be mentioned that in both 2006 and 2007news portals were among the most popular accessed websites reached by 72% (Delfi.lt, news
portal), 37% (Lrytas.lt, online newspaper) and 27% (Alfa.lt, news portal) of online audience.
In the second half of 2007, 18.4% of the Internet users claimed they most frequently read
versions of Lithuanian newspapers and magazines, 14% communicated in virtual forums and
news groups, 2.4% of respondents watched TV online (TNS Gallup, 2007).
It may be summarized that approximately half of the inhabitants are readers of daily
newspapers (however, the popularity of tabloids is much higher than of those with more
qualitative content). Similar findings can be made in the TV and radio sectors: ratings of TV
news are 2 or 3 times lower than those of entertainment programs, while active news listeners
comprise about 23% of the total radio audience. The situation is different with the Internet
news oriented portals take the most popular positions, but it should be remembered that only
around half of the population (54%) are Internet users in Lithuania.
(F3) Internal rules for newsroom democracy. 1 point
In few media organizations decisions in the newsrooms sometimes involve journalists.
In most media organizations there are no formal procedures on how to involve journalists in
decisions on personnel or editor in chief choices. Most often, the chief editor is appointed by
the owners or a company director, even though once journalists of 15 minui were asked to
suggest a candidate.
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In the news media analyzed, the selection of new journalists is usually done by the chief
editor or the head of the news department (15 minui, Vakaro inios, TV3, radio and TV
newsrooms of public service broadcaster). Sometimes some other employees are involved
into this decision making process, but they are usually the ones taking high positions in the
newsroom (Kauno diena, Delfi.lt, ini radijas). The entire newsroom staff is consulted
only in the news portal Bernardinai.lt, but the final decision is taken by the chief editor.
(F4) Company rules against internal influence on newsrooms. 1 point
Some media organizations have formal rules to separate newsroom and advertising
departments; concrete cases exist when journalists protested against the decisions of
managers to impose what stories to cover.
The main media law prohibits any pressure on journalists to air false or biased information. It
requires producers of public information programs to have their own internal codes of ethics,
which must set the journalists rights, duties, responsibility, employments relations, as well
as the journalists protection against restriction of his rights. It pins down the journalists
duties including the duty to refuse an assignment by the producer, the disseminator of public
information, their representative or a responsible person appointed by them, if this assignment
compels [the journalist] to violate the laws or the Code of Ethics of Lithuanian Journalists and
Publishers.
Institutionally, it seems that adequate wording is in place; in reality, however, there exist
certain drawbacks in media performance. In most cases, the requirement for an internal code
of ethics in media organization is implemented only formally as there is no legally binding
commitment to ensure editorial independence.
According to interview results, the majority of journalists say they are independent inchoosing their topics and feel no pressure from the owners. At the same time, they would not
in most cases produce a negative report on the owners. According to our respondents, there is
no censorship in the media, yet a certain degree of self-censorship exists.
Most media organizations do not have formal rules to separate newsroom and advertising
departments, but in some media these separations were made. As claimed by respondents,
most media organizations hire different people and do not involve journalists in the
preparation of advertising material. Advertising department also does not participate in
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newsroom meetings. However, it does not mean that this department does not have influence
on the work of journalists. For example, some years ago the report by Transparency
International mentioned a case when a list of main advertisers was hanging on the notice
board in the newsroom of one national TV channels meaning that no negative material should
be announced about them (Transparency International, 2007). Another research study has
shown that in the analysis of publications in three Lithuanian dailies in the period of 2004-
2006 tendencies were noticed that no negative articles were usually prepared about the main
advertisers (Nastaraviius, 2006). The same research study also demonstrated that some
newspapers even started publishing negative articles about some companies prompting these
to order advertising.
In our sample of leading media, some chief editors are also the directors of their mediaorganization (for example, in the daily Vakaro inios and the radio station ini radijas).
This could be treated as a conflict of interests, as newsroom and management departments
should be totally separated.
It also needs to be mentioned that clear cases exist to verify that journalists protest against
internal pressures. For instance, when the news agency ELTA was bought by the Respublika
media group, the majority of ELTA journalists left their jobs as they claimed that the new
owners tried to make influence on the content. In 2007, the director general of the radiostation ini radijas Vaidotas ukas lost his job because, as he claimed, he refused to make
an interview with the owner Augustinas Rakauskas (the president of the association of
enterprises Senukai).
(F5) Company rules against external influence on newsrooms 0 points
Media organizations receive income from diverse streams; however, sponsoring agreements
are found in some, mostly regional and local, media.
News media receive income from a multitude of sources such as advertising and sponsoring.
In the case of public service broadcaster, close to 40% of the funding comes from advertising,
while the rest comes through state allocations.
The chief editors of the selected news media claimed that they usually do not feel any direct
outside pressures. Only the head of the newsroom of commercial TV channel TV3 said that
once she experienced direct pressure and even attempts to intimidate. She also mentioned a
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case when one of the main advertisers cancelled their order after a negative reportage about
their company was shown. Other respondents mentioned only soft attempts to affect the
content by hiring agencies of public relations or attempts to convince people who are in some
way related to journalists.
Considering the sources of income that news media have, advertising is usually the essential
one. 4 of out 9 selected news media are totally dependent on this revenue stream (15
minui, Delfi.lt, ini radijas, TV3). Newspapers (Kauno diena or Vakaro inios) get
their income from sales and subscription but advertising still gives the biggest part of revenue.
Internet news portal Bernardinai.lt is the least dependant on advertisers, as income from
advertising amounts to only 15% of the total budget; the rest is provided by the Press Fund
and various sponsors (through public funding).In 2007, the Lithuanian chapter of Transparency International has announced a research about
the level of corruption in Lithuanian media. According to the data provided in this research,
13% of businessman, who participated in the survey and who had dealings with Lithuanian
media in 2005-2006, said they paid the media by advertising or commercials for the
publishing of positive material or suppressing negative information. Most often respondents
claimed they bribed the press; national TV channels are described as less corrupt than local
ones.
Equality / Interest mediation
(E1) Media ownership concentration regional level 2 points
Media concentration is not an issue of big concern as great variety of media outlets exists on
regional level.
The audience share and reach of local and regional TV channels has slowly increased over
recent years. In 2006, the market of regional and local broadcasting included one regional
broadcaster and 27 local commercial TV stations. The country was served at the time by 57
cable operators and four Multichannel Multipoint Distributed Service (MMDS) operators.The
number of regional, local broadcasters and cable operators has been stable. According to the
law, a regional broadcaster shows terrestrial programming to a territory inhabited by less than
60% of Lithuanias population.
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Rules on licensing regional and local broadcasters are the same as for nationwide
broadcasters. The RTC says in its annual reports that regional and local broadcasters are
monitored on a regular basis. Sanctions against them were exceptionally rare: once in 2005
and three times in 2006.No comprehensive data on this monitoring are publicly available.
In general, regional concentration is fairly low. In most cases more than two competing news
media outlets are available in each sector. Market share (CR3) in the regions of Lithuania
cannot be calculated, as no relevant data is available.
(E2) Media ownership concentration national level. 2 points
Media ownership concentration is not an issue of big concern, but certain worries were
already aired by media experts as the situation in some sectors may rapidly change to critical
levels.
In Lithuania, the legislation contains no special provisions on media concentration. The sector
comes under the more general competition law, which forbids dominant positions, meaning
over 40% of a market.
In TV market, a severe competition exists between two commercial stations TV3 and LNK, as
their popularity is at similar rates. In 2007, TV3 controlled 26.6%, while LNK 22% of theoverall market. The third largest player is the public service broadcaster (LTV) which owns
13.4 of the market (TNS Gallup, 2007). The total market share of these three channels is 62%.
In the radio market, situation is different for the public service broadcaster, as its station LR1
is the leading one (it controls 21.1% of the market). Other two dominant positions are taken
by commercial stations Lietus and Pkas (13.3% and 9.4% respectively). Taken together,
these three channels comprise 43.6% of the overall market.
Considering the market of national dailies, Vakaro inios, Lietuvos rytas and 15 minui
control 19.9 %, 19.2 % and 11.1 % of the overall market respectively. The total market share
of these three dailies is 50.2 % (TNS Gallup 2007).
In general, conclusion could be made that the highest concentration exists in the television
section (CR3 reaches 62%), which is followed by newspaper market (50.2 %) and radio
market (43.8%). Even though Internet media is rapidly strengthening its positions in the
overall media market, no data is available on the marker share by the leading news portals.
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No sanctions have ever been imposed in Lithuania for abuse of dominant positions by owners
of more media in pursuing their business interests. It is difficult to prove that media
ownership concentration has direct impact on media content but observations can be made.
Lietuvos rytas, one of the biggest newspaper publishers, has stepped seriously into the TV
business by acquiring shares of the regional TV stations network 5 kanalas (now it is TV
channel Lrytas Television). The producer company owned by the same owners has weekly
programs on the public service broadcaster.
Briefly, media structural diversity is a serious problem for small markets and, as practice
reveals, it is difficult to find one adequate solution suitable for every situation. In the early
1990s, the ideal of market liberalization was initiated by immediate needs (to promote
development of domestic actors). Thus, certain bans and restrictions in media regulation wereimposed. Also, as Lithuania does not share languages with its neighbors, media regulation
does not follow the protectionist path.
(E3) Diagonal ownership concentration. 1 point
Some non media owners also invest into media companies.
In recent years, diagonal media concentration has significantly increased as well as morevaried ownership forms have emerged in the media scene.
Aside to foreign ownership (mainly from the neighboring Scandinavia), media in Lithuania is
owned by local business groups with varying interests (Table 7). Increasing diagonal media
concentration creates a tricky situation where the media becomes an instrument in the hands
of different actors aiming to achieve their aspirations.
Table 7 about here
Achema Group is now the most active player in the Lithuanian media market owning
dailies, TV and radio stations and publishing houses. Other media giants are set to exploit the
growing popularity of Internet media. Lithuania's leading private equity concern, MG Baltic,
owner of the national broadcaster LNK, launched a news portal, www.alfa.lt, in the August of
2007, and is actively penetrating the publishing market. Another private equity firm, Hermis
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Capital, owns three regional dailies, while 80% of shares of the radio station ini radijas
belongs to Augustinas Rakauskas, who is the owner of Senukai enterprises.
Briefly, discussion on media concentration and access diversity in small markets raises
different concerns. On the one hand, in a small market, few but large and wealthy media firmscould provide better quality and more innovative media products as well as ensure better
working conditions for journalists than many small and highly competitive local media
suppliers with only limited resources. On the other hand, there remains a perceived danger
that excessive concentration of media ownership and business logics based on economic
management of news production poses a threat to pluralism by concentrating more economic
power into the hands of just a few suppliers. Giant media groups may find it easy to take over
and drive out smaller companies. Also, large companies may strategically deploy theirresources to undercut the price of weaker competitors in target markets.
(E4) Diversity of news formats. 2 points
Different types of content is offered, but entertainment dominates.
Recent years have seen a certain shift from information, culture and education programs to
entertainment on the public service and, particularly, commercial channels. The increase inpresentation formats is observed in online media, as a clear shift to incorporating video news,
blogs, reviews by public intellectuals and user generated content is noticed in all biggest
online news portals. In contrast, in print media, a tendency is observed of genre diversity
diminishing just to two choices: hard news and features.
The shift to entertainment and movies is most clearly visible on television where a variety of
entertainment programs were launched. Although the generic diversity is fairly big across the
four national coverage channels (1 publicly funded and 3 commercial stations) ranging fromhard news to softer programming and entertainment, the composition among different types of
broadcasters looks very much the same (see Table 8). Offering more hours in some sectors of
softer programming (entertainment), commercial stations aim to keep balance in their output
by providing news and information programs as well as movies and fiction in comparable
amounts with the public service broadcaster. As data shows, all TV stations are dependent on
advertising revenues and air about the same amount of hours of advertisements in their
programming (4-5% of all output hours).
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Table 8 about here
At the same time, serious talk shows have been steadily disappearing from the screen. Their
number dropped from ten in 2004 to four in early 2007. Three of them cover political and
economic issues and the fourth deals mainly with social and gender issues. Two of them are
broadcasted by LRT, one by 5 kanalas and one by LNK. The political talk shows on LTV,
Spaudos klubas and Forumas, however, are criticized for bias by some experts and
viewers. In the presentation of his 2006 Annual Report in Parliament on 22 May 2007, the
Inspector of Journalist Ethics Romas Gudaitis urged the hosts of LTVs talk shows to offer a
wider choice of experts and commentators and to ensure the diversity of opinions and
expressions.
The media law contains general guidelines on programming that apply to all broadcasters.
They include the requirement to air unbiased information with as many opinions as possible
on controversial issues related to politics, economic and social issues.
Commercial broadcasters are also obliged by their license contract with the regulator to air a
certain proportion of generic programming every week (the RTCs representatives say that
they monitor periodically how commercial broadcasters fulfill these obligations; however, no
data are publicly available).
The Law on LRT also sets general principles for content broadcast by LRT. However, they
are similar to the provisions from the main media law. It stipulates specific requirements for
programs with the aim of ensuring a diversity of topics and genres, obliging broadcasters to
cover diverse social layers and people of all ages, diverse nationalities and convictions. The
law also requires that biased political views should not be allowed to predominate in the
programs, and that information and commentaries on TV screens must be balanced and
reflect diverse political views. The law states that opinions by journalists and commentators
must be clearly labeled as such, while factual news must be substantiated and comprehensive.
The law also obliges the public service broadcaster to give priority to national culture and
broadcasts on information, world cultures, journalistic investigation, analytical, educational
and art broadcasts.
The public service broadcaster is not obliged to comply with any rules on a minimum length
of programs by genre. It is the responsibility of the LRT Council to make decisions on LTV
content and to monitor its programs. However, none of these functions performed in reality:
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there are no data available on monitoring of LTV programs. The LRT Council is also
responsible for putting together a state strategy on programming of the public service
broadcaster.
(E5) Alternative / minority media 3 points
Different minority media are offered.
Lithuania is in general an ethnically homogenous country. In 2007, Lithuanians accounted for
84.6% of entire population in the country, with none of the national minorities topping the
10% threshold. The largest minority in Lithuania is Polish, 6.3%, followed by Russians
(5.1%) and Belarusians (1.1%). Other minorities account for less than 1% of the population.
Lithuanian legislation does not include any special quotas for language and minority groups.
Some radio stations (LR1) and several news portals (Alfa.lt) publish news in the English
language, while Delfi.lt has also its news edition in Russian. According to the Lithuanian
Press Statistics of 2007, out of the total number of 328 newspapers 25 were published in
foreign languages. The majority of them (19) are in Russian, 4 in Polish, 1 in English,
Yiddish and German languages. There is also one radio program in Polish (Znad Wilii) and
one in Russian (Russkoje Radio Baltija).
The Law on LRT also does not set specific quotas, but includes some specific requirements
for LTV. It obliges LTV to allot time for Lithuanias traditional and state-recognized religious
communities to broadcast religious services in accordance with the conditions and procedure
stipulated in bilateral agreements between the public broadcaster and various religious
communities. The legal amendments that came into force on 31 December 2005 added
requirements on broadcasters to air programs for national minorities and people with sight and
hearing disabilities.
LTV generally follows the legal requirements and offers five programs for national minorities
in Polish, Russian and Ukrainian, it also has programs for the Jewish community in Lithuania
and Labas (Hello) on the culture, traditions and religion of other nations. LTV also airs three
weekly programs for religious communities (Catholics, the Evangelical community and for
the Christian Orthodox community). It also airs masses during the most important Catholic
religious events. Roman Catholics in Lithuania comprise a majority. There are 2.7 million
Catholics in a country of 3.4 million, according to the census in 2001. None of the other
religious confessions account for more than one per cent of the population. The other largest
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religious communities include Christian Orthodox with over 141.000 believers and the
Evangelical community (Lutherans and Reformists) with 26.000.
In 2006, programming for national minorities accounted for 1% and 2% of LTV and LTV2
broadcasting time, respectively, while religious programs accounted for 0.8% and 1% of LTVand LTV2 broadcasting time.
(E6) Affordable public and private news media 2 points
Quality media as well as the Internet access is more expensive; mainstream media as well as
tabloid press is cheap.
According to the Lithuanian Department of Statistics (Indicators of Economic and SocialDevelopment, 2004-2009), average gross monthly earnings for workers was 636 Euro (net
monthly earnings 493 Euro). Considering the prices for the access of various media, many
differences can be noticed according to the media type. There are no license fees for radio and
TV in Lithuania; moreover, one national free newspaper is available at the three biggest cities
of Lithuania.
Putting aside free media channels, the cheapest media are newspapers (tabloids are twice
cheaper than mid-market press); subscription to cable TV and the Internet is considerablyhigher. If access to newspapers comprises 1-2%, access to cable TV requires 2% and for high-
speed Internet up to 6% of monthly earnings (Table 9).
Table 9 about here
In general, mainstream media is available at a low cost. All news portals offer free content,there are no taxes to pay for the public service media (TV and radio) and newspapers are
facing serious competition and dropping numbers of readers thus they are competing with
different subscription offers. As different media is available (and at a low cost), generally, the
amount of media consumed is increasing in all sectors.
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(E7) Content monitoring instruments 1 point
There is an organized and regular media monitoring performed by diverse organizations such
as NGOs, media regulatory bodies, higher education institutions; however, these results
seldom reach wider audience. Discussions on media performance are found in the Internet
media as well as some radio broadcasts or dailies; this is done by academics, public
intellectuals, media professionals).
In Lithuania, media content is monitored by the institution of the Inspector of Journalist
Ethics and the RTC. The Lithuanian Journalism Centre (an NGO) performs different projects
some of which are related to media content and performance monitoring as well as policy
drafting. However, the results of these projects are seldom published in the mainstream media
or reach wider audience in any other ways except of academic discussions at higher educationinstitutions.
In principle, an independent and regular professional media monitoring instruments and
mechanisms do exist in the country. There is one professional journal in Lithuania, called
Journalists News. It appears once a month and has been published since 1997 (its funding
comes from the Press Fund). In 2007, the first Lithuanian media weblog started functioning
(Gzi.lt). It is an open forum which invites all media organizations concerned with the matters
of ethics and transparency to participate in an open and honest discussion. Currently the
members of this weblog are 19 media organizations. Commentaries of media researchers are
also published on the webpage; also, there is a possibility provided to participate in virtual
debate forums.
The role of training and education of journalists seems to be of particular significance in
bringing training of students as close to practice as possible at the same time allowing
analysis and reflection that is necessary for journalism professionals to fully understand both
the methods involved in news reporting and writing and the social repercussions of
proliferating market journalism.
To conclude, it seems that a small market sets higher demands on both news producers and
consumers. For news producers, it requires to achieve quality content with limited resources.
Consumers, too, must be better equipped to access information, make informed choices and
assess the received content.
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(E8) Level of self-regulation (performance) 1 point
There is an organized system of media self-regulation in Lithuania; there are also examples
of organized self-criticism. But there are little resources and for citizens it is unclear whom to
address complaints.
In Lithuania, two institutions are involved in handling complaints on media performance,
namely the Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers and the office of the Inspector of
Journalist Ethics (both established in 1996).
Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers is a self-regulation institution, while the
office of Inspector of Journalist Ethics is more a regulatory instrument. Both institutions are
slightly interlinked, for example the candidacy of the Inspector is proposed by the
Commission. The Office of the Inspector observes how the Law on the Provision of
Information to the Public functions as well as adherence to the regulation according to the
Law on the Protection of Minors against Detrimental Effect of Public Information and others
laws. Commission mainly deals with journalist ethics and the main document on which it
bases its decisions is the Ethics Code.
The person who wants to write a complaint needs to address it to one of those two institutions.
If the case deals with human rights, honor, dignity, privacy violation, also the rights of minors
then the complaint should go to the Inspector. The Office of Inspector has a group of
experts who help him make decisions on these cases. The Office of the Inspector also
monitors media and has the power to punish information provider (by administrative order) if
he detects that the media firm has offended the law. The Commission investigates cases from
the perspective of journalists ethics. It bases its decisions also according to chapters in the
Ethics Code.
A problematic issue here is the dilemma that is faced by the citizens. It is unclear in most
cases to whom to address the complaint. Indeed, the two institutions are cooperating if the
case is unclear and deals with the matter of the other office, they exchange the cases. In this
respect a bigger transparency on both institutions is needed as well as media literacy needs to
be promoted already at a school level (in Lithuania this is already done: school programs have
different modules on media).
The Commission is funded from the Press Fund; the budget assigned is limited, it is used
mainly for administrative purposes. Members of the Commission are paid by honorariums for
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each of the meeting. Small budget limits the activities of the Commission: it does not perform
media monitoring and limits its functions only to decision making.
The Office of the Inspector is funded by the state. The Inspector is a public servant (he is
employed by the state and cannot get any other salary); he has an office and employs expertswho do the media monitoring, especially of cases that might deal with violation of the rights
of minors.
One more aspect that becomes crucially important in the analysis of media performance is a
question whether media adhere to the requests by the Inspector (also by the Commission) to
publish negations. News media often show disrespect for Inspectors decisions and almost
never publishes negations. As a result, in his report to the Parliament of 2007, the Inspector
suggests to establish sanctions for the noncompliance with his decisions.
The Commission is facing the same problem, even though the situation is a bit different.
Approximately 50% of its decisions are published by the media which broke the Code of
Ethics. When the medium in breach does not publish the negation, the Commission
announces its decision on the first radio program of the public service broadcaster. However,
in 2008 this has not been done yet due to the unsettled time for their announcement.
The only sanction the Commission uses in its work is writing letters and warnings to the chief
editors of media that violate the Code. Those organizations which constantly repeat serious
violations can be labeled as the medium which does not comply with the rules of the Code.
During the whole time when the Commission has been working, there was only one such
case, when this sanction was applied to the daily Vakaro inios.
(E9) Code of ethics at the national level (structure) 2 points
There is an institutionalized system of self-regulation and code of ethics).
The main regulatory tool for editorial policies in media is the Code of Ethics for Journalists
and Publishers, approved by the Lithuanian Journalists Union in 1996. The Code sets basic
requirements for news reporting, ethical standards and protection of individual privacy. It also
speaks about the relations between journalists and owners, and among journalists themselves.
The Code was amended in 2005 to include provisions on transparency of information, hidden
advertising and the rights of private individuals and minors. Journalists are obliged by law to
protect and respect the right to privacy in the event of death or disease. They must not
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mention personal data when covering suicides or suicide attempts and must not propagate or
depict attractively smoking, drinking or the use of narcotics. Such topics can be covered only
when needed for the realistic presentation of various issues. However, this hardly changed the
real situation in the Lithuanian media. Most of the decisions by ethics custodians in recent
years were primarily related to violation of privacy and protection of minors.
All representatives of the selected news media claimed that their journalists adhere to the
principles of the Lithuanian Journalists and Publishers Code of Ethics. Nevertheless, in
some organizations analyzed, there are no formal means that would oblige journalists to
follow this requirement. In 2 organizations out of 9, this requirement is included into the
employment contract (dailies Kauno diena and 15 minui), in one organization it is a part
of professional instructions (iniradijas). In radio and TV newsrooms of the public servicebroadcaster, provisions of the Code of Ethics are incorporated into the internal principles of
work and into the regulations on internal work of newsrooms. In TV3 and Delfi.lt, the
principles of the Code are a part of internal unwritten rules of an organization.
Only two of the selected news media organizations have their additional internal rules written
down (LTV and ini radijas). In all the others, these rules are more implicit rather than
clearly formulated principles. The methods of reaction towards mistakes or breaches of ethics
done by journalists are very similar in various organizations. No strict sanctions are usuallyapplied except some extraordinary cases; editors discuss faults with a journalist or during
newsroom meetings.
Organized process of self-criticism is quite rare except of few projects (one radio program and
several online portals) which offer programs resembling the logic of media reviewing media.
Independent journalist associations play an important role in improving skills and raising
ethical standards. In Lithuania, two such organizations exist: Lithuanian Journalists Union
and Journalists Association. The number of their members is respectively 800 and 100
journalists. Having in mind that in general there are 3000 journalists in Lithuania (4000, if
counting those who work on honorarium bases), then members of these organizations form
approximately one third (or one fourth) of all journalists.
The number of the members of professional organizations differs a lot in the selected news
media. It is only in the daily Kauno diena that all the journalists belong to the Lithuanian
Journalists Union; in other news media analyzed they comprise from 0 to 35% of all
newsroom employees. On the whole, it may be generalized that Lithuanian Journalists Union
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is not strong but it performs its functions at least partially. It organizes various courses and
seminars, provides free consultations on legal matters for their members. Besides, a collective
agreement was signed with the National Association of Publishers of Regional and Town
Newspapers which unites representatives of 37 newspapers.
(E10) Participation of citizens 2 points
News media organizations have introduced adequate means to receive public comments.
Media in Lithuania provides a variety of ways for hearing their audiences opinions and
suggestions. Rather often people suggest various themes that journalists find worth creating
articles or reportages about, so the audience has impact on the news media agenda.
According to the representatives of the selected news media, the most popular forms of
expressing audiences opinion and suggestions are phone calls and e-mails. Some news media
have original ways to hear from their readers or listeners. Internet news portal Delfi.lt has
created a special menu section called Tell us your news!, while the journalists of the portal
Bernardinai.lt once a month or more seldom organize meetings with their readers in various
parts of Lithuania. Some ways to hear audiences attitudes are related to the type of media: in
the programs of radio station iniradijas and public service broadcaster, listeners calls areoften incorporated into the live coverage. Radio newsroom of public service broadcaster also
has an answer phone which records listeners questions at any time of the day. A special
broadcast is prepared every week for providing answers to these questions.
Internet media organizations having less hierarchical editorial structures are more open to new
content formats and forms of cooperation with citizens. Many possibilities to participate in
discussions on actualities are provided by Internet portals, as they all allow the possibility to
comment on the articles. Some of them offer possibilities to write weblogs (Delfi.lt, 15minui, Kauno diena), to participate in virtual discussions and forums.
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Control / watchdog
(C1) Control of the controllers 1 point
Few media do this on a more deep level; mainstream media only mention factual information
on changes in the field.
Public criticism and regular public debates on media performance are taking place on
irregular basis. For example, media structural changes related matters are covered in the
media; this, however, is done mostly on the factual level and in the sphere of economic news.
A broader analysis on the impact on changes in the media field on citizenship is lacking (but
again with some exceptions, for example, some media do this). The chief editor of
commercial radio station ini radijas described their main function as serving interests of
the audience, so the control of the controllers is taken into account as much as it interests their
listeners. A journalist of a free newspaper 15 minui said that the informational style is
dominating in their newspaper and serious issues are avoided.
(C2) Watchdog and the medias mission statements 1 point
Level of importance is acknowledged as very high; at the same time, the mission of media in
most cases is mentioned as to inform the public.
The representatives of the selected news media describe the watchdog role as one of the most
important functions of media, but the biggest priority is given to the mission of informing
society and presenting the biggest scope of various opinions. Journalists claim that it is
important to report news which has tangible consequences for ordinary citizens. This kind of
journalism takes a keen interest in public opinion. In these answers the locus of news is
clearly pulling away from politics and seeking a more immediate connection to the everyday
life of individuals.
Also, it may be noticed that some representatives of the selected news media have a varied
understanding of the watchdog function. For example, the chief editor of the daily Kauno
diena and the head of the radio news department at the public service broadcaster associated
it with the presentation of a concrete authors opinion towards certain actualities. The chief
editor of the daily Kauno diena expressed her opinion that nowadays the watchdog function
is being transformed into the production of balanced and wide-ranging information. As she
explained, this function in Kauno diena is fulfilled by the selection of certain topics.
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(C3) Professional training 2 points
There exists a continuous training of media professionals.
The Lithuanian Journalists Union regularly organizes trainings on the basis of the needs
expressed by the profession. Over recent years, the biggest attention has been paid to the
media in the regions and trainings were offered in online reporting and editing, newsroom
management, journalism ethics, elections reporting, EU news reporting and so forth.
However, in the media industry, professional trainings are carried out on less regular basis; a
somewhat more structured time-table of trainings is offered by the public service broadcaster.
Analyzing how much the selected news media organizations invest into professional training
of journalists, it was noticed that 6 out of 9 organizations prepare internal seminars for their
journalists (Delfi.lt, 15 minui, TV3, ini radijas, radio and TV newsrooms of public
service broadcaster). The frequency of such seminars is usually several times a year. At the
same frequency one or few journalists from an organization raise their qualification in
seminars organized by outside institutions (higher education institutions, international
organizations). 4 out of 9 selected news media organizations pay for seminars that are not for
free or finance traveling expenses if the seminars take place abroad (dailies Kauno diena,
Vakaro inios; TV3). Other 4 media organizations finance only part of the price, pay for the
seminars that take place only in Lithuania or invests in those journalists that seem to be most
worth it (15 minui, Delfi.lt, radio and TV newsrooms of public service broadcaster). One
organization has no possibilities at all to invest into professional training of their journalists
(Bernardinai.lt).
In addition to various seminars, higher education may also play a significant role for the
qualification of journalists. The 4 out of 9 representatives of the selected news media
described journalistic education as not a significant criterion in the selection of new
journalists (15 minui, Vakaro inios, Bernardinai.lt, TV3). Other 4 respondents
mentioned it as the one that is taken into account but does not play any crucial role in
comparison to others (Delfi.lt, ini radijas, radio and TV newsrooms of public service
broadcaster). It was only the chief editor of Kauno diena who considered journalistic
education to be an important criterion and underlined its positive effect on employees
professional responsibility and ability to find relevant information.
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Despite the low value that the respondents attribute to journalistic education, the percentage
of journalists who are educated in this field is quite high. In 4 out of 9 of the selected news
media organizations such journalists form from 75% till 96% of all newsroom journalists
(Kauno diena, Delfi.lt, radio and TV newsrooms of public service broadcaster). In two
organizations it comprises approximately half of the journalists (TV3 and ini radijas). In
the last 3 organizations such journalists form much smaller part of the staff from 10% till
30% (15 minui, Bernardinai.lt, Vakaro inios).
Many representatives of the selected news media contrasted professional education with
experience or inborn talents. The majority of them made conclusions that practical skills for a
good journalist are more necessary than special education, even though there was no such
intention in the question to make such comparisons.
(C4) Watchdog function and financial resources 1 point
Only ad hoc provisions for media professionals to do investigation; no regular investment
into development of foreign correspondents corps, except the LRT.
Even though investigative journalism is a significant tool for the control of the powerful, the
selected news media do not engage into these activities on regular basis. Lack of financialresources, adequate time planning as well as lack of professionals qualified to do investigative
journalism are among most frequently mentioned reasons for this. For example, 4 out of 9
representatives of the selected news media mentioned that they would like to pay more
attention to the field of investigative journalism (Kauno diena, TV3, radio newsroom of
public service broadcaster, Bernardinai.lt). Regional daily (Kauno diena) is the only
organization which encourages production of investigative journalism: a journalist is awarded
a certain bonus for an article prepared after investigation. In some media organizations
allocation of time required for the production depends on internal agreement between
journalists (Bernardinai, 15 minui). In the free daily 15minutes, only so-called mini
investigations or experiments are sometimes accomplished, but an informal agreement exists
that one journalist is preparing a report on the theme of the day while others do the rest of the
work. In both TV channels analyzed, TV3 and the first TV channel of public service
broadcaster (LTV), a weekly program oriented towards deeper analyses of actualities is
broadcasted. If an important issue for investigation is found, the newsroom attempts to
provide conditions for an investigation. For example, in 2007 an investigation about abuses of
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power in the municipality of the capital city had been carried out for 3 months. Nevertheless,
the majority of the news media analyzed do not allocate neither additional time nor money for
the promotion of investigative journalism.
It is interesting to note that even the notion of investigative journalism that chief editors of theselected news media have may be different. The head of the radio newsroom of public service
broadcaster feels sorry that they have no special department of investigative journalism and
look up to Scandinavian media where journalists perform research for half a year or even for
the whole year. By contrast, the chief editor of the tabloid Vakaro inios claimed that
articles of investigative journalism are published every day on the second and third pages of
the newspaper. However, these publications could be described as usual articles and certainly
not as examples of investigative journalism.
3. Concluding remarks
This study has disclosed certain drawbacks that may have serious implications to medias
democratic performance in the future.
Lack of explicit mission statements and rules for internal newsroom organization are
disclosed as a serious problem in some (particularly, commercial) media organizations. It is awarning indication of lack of internal newsroom democracy which may lead to limitations of
medias democratic performance. Also, as discussed in this study, certain kinds of self-
censorship as well as external pressures on certain media types (small media) are detected.
In addition, complex organization of self-regulation, absence of publicly available media
monitoring efforts affect both media accountability and public knowledge and willingness of
the audience to take part in media related discussions. The Internet media is operating on a
somewhat different logic as it aims to create open forums for public debates by providingdiverse news and also critical analysis of media performance related matters. Although
Internet usage is growing and leveling in the regions of the country, audiences which access
this medium are the younger and better educated ones.
It may be observed that the news media analyzed do not explicitly assign special importance
to the function of the control of the powerful but at the same time perform it to a certain
extent. As mentioned, investments into investigative journalism are often prevented by the
lack of financial resources.
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There is a general trend observed that in favor of expanding profit margins the mainstream
media gradually abandon public service mission of journalism. Entertainment programs and
sensational news dominate in commercial channels.
To conclude, there are many challenges to be approached in the process of consolidation ofmedia democratic performance in Lithuania. Some of these challenges are quite new such as
questions related to diffusion of market-oriented journalism and abandonment of public
service mission, ongoing structural changes in the media sector due to media convergence and
concentration, or old, for example, related to production of analytical and investigative
journalism, investments into foreign reporting and so forth.
In short, the journalistic culture of Lithuania is affected by the liberal media model, but weak
historical tradition of professional journalism, absence of organized self-criticism in themainstream media and lack of public debates on medias performance has caused significant
distortions of medias performance from, especially, the Nordic examples.
References
Balytien, A. (2006). Mass Media in Lithuania: Changes, Development, and JournalismCulture. Berlin: Vistas.
Gemius Audience (company website), http://www.audience.lt.
Lithuanian Press Statistics (2007), available on the Internet:http://www.lnb.lt/doc/bkc/statistika2006.pdf.
Nastaraviius, M. (2006). Verslo interes raika alies periodini leidini turiniui (Impact ofBuisness Interests on Newspaper Content). Unpublished Bachelor thesis, VilniusUniversity.
OSI (Open Society Institute) and EUMAP (EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program) (2005)Television Across Europe: Regulation, Policy and Independence. Summary. Budapest:OSI/EUMAP.
Statistics Lithuania (company website), Main Indicators of Economic and SocialDevelopment, 2004-2009, http://www.stat.gov.lt/en/pages/view/?id=2622.
TNS Gallup (2007)Metin iniasklaidos apvalga. Available on the Internet: http://www.tns-gallup.lt/lt/disp.php/lt_2/lt_2_4.
TNS Gallup (company website), http://www.tns-gallup.lt.
Transparency International (2007). Skairesns iniasklaidos link. Available on the internet:http://www.transparency.lt/new/images/media_skaidrumas_www.pdf.
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Tables:
Table 1. Leading news media according to its audience share, impact, distinctiveness, etc. (2007).
News media outlet Media type (averagecirculation, 000)
Ownership Other media outlets owned bythe same company
Kauno diena Regional daily, 45 Hermis Capital (privateequity, Lithuania)
Regional dailies (Klaipda,Vilniaus diena)
Vakaro inios Tabloid daily, 130 Respublika group(closed stock company,Lithuania)
Dailies Respublika (tabloid),Vakarekspresas, news agencyELTA
15 min Free daily, 100 Schibsted (Norway) National tabloid L.T. (50%)TV3 Commercial broadcaster Modern Times Group
(Sweden)Regional TV station, VIASATnetwork, chain of radio stations
LTV Public service TVstation
State (according to theLRT Law)
LTV, LTV2, LTV World, Lrt.lt,radio stations (LR1, LR2, LR3,Opus radijas)
iniradijas Commercial radiostation
Closed stock company,Lithuania (ownerAugustinas Rakauskas)
-
LR1 Public service radiostation
State (according to theLRT Law)
LTV, LTV2, LTV World, Lrt.lt,radio stations (LR1, LR2, LR3,Opus radijas)
Delfi.lt Online only news portal Microlink (Estonia) -Bernardinai.lt Online only news portal Public institution* -*A public institution is a non-profit public organisation with limited civil liability, having the rights of a legal
person, Registered according to the Law on Public Institutions and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Itspurpose is to serve public interests by engaging in activities for the advancement of public benefits.
Table 2. Comparing different media use in 2002 and 2006 (TNS Gallup, 2002, 2006).
Cover% Min/day Reach%
2002 2006 2002 2006 2002 2006
Dailies 50.5% 56.1% Radio148
min/day
170
min/day
Internet
Daily reach
15.5%
monthly
reach
18.4%
6 months
reach
20.4%
Daily
reach 31%
monthly
reach 34%
6 months
reach
36.4%
Weeklies 54.2% 68.3%
TV189
min/day
192
min/day
Magazines,
monthlies,
bi-
monthlies
44.6% 47.3%
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Table 3. Distribution of regional and local newspapers in Lithuania (Lithuanian Press Statistics, 2007).
Main city and its regionInhabitants (in thousands) in the
region
The number of regional and local
newspapers
Alytus 187.7 9
Kaunas 701.5 19
Klaipda 385.7 14
Marijampol 188.6 13
Panevys 299.9 12
iauliai 370.0 14
Taurag 134.2 7
Teliai 179.8 13
Utena 185.9 12
Vilnius 850.0 24
Table 4. Top 5 dailies according to circulation and average readership (TNS Gallup 2006).
Title
Place of
publicationType Publisher
Average
number of
circulation
(thousand)
Average
readership
(cover %)
Average
readership
(thousand)
Vakaro inios Vilnius Nationaltabloid
Naujasis aitvaras,closed stockcompany
130 22.0 578.1
Lietuvos rytas Vilnius Nationaldaily
Lietuvos rytas,closed stockcompany
7018.6 488.4
15 min Vilnius,
Kaunas,Klaipda
National
daily (freesheet)
Shibsted, (Norway)
100 14.4 429.6
Respublika Vilnius Nationaldaily
Respublikos leidinigrup, closed stockcompany
50 8.2 214.2
Kauno diena Kaunas Regionaldaily
Hermis Capital,closed stockcompany
456.1 161.5
Table 5. Four national coverage TV stations and their market share (TNS Gallup, 2006)
Program
Area of
transmission Owner/Media group Type
Daily reach
(cover%)
Market
share(in%)
LNK Nationalcoverage
Laisvas nepriklausomaskanalas, closed stockcompany (MG Baltic 80%, Amber Trust S.C.A.
20%)
Commercial
53.5 23.4
TV3 Nationalcoverage
TELE-3, closed stockcompany (owned byModern Times Group)
Commercial53.0 24.5
LTV Nationalcoverage
LRT, state-owned publicservice broadcaster
Publicservice
45.6 14.8
BTV National
coverage
Achemos grup, closed
stock company
Commercial38.7 9.2
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Table 6. Main online-only news portals in Lithuania (Gemius Audience, 2008).
Title Owner TypeInternational
activities
Number of
unique users,
2007Delfi.lt Interinfo, closed stock
companyMainstreamnews media
Delfi.lv, Delfi.ee841.136
Balsas.lt Naujosios komunikacijosprekyba, closed stockcompany
Mainstreamnews media
no124.878
Alfa.lt MG Baltic, closed stockcompany
Mainstreamnews media
no207.233
Bernardinai.lt Bernardinai.lt, publicinstitution
Non-commercialnews media
nona
Vz.lt Bonnier Media (Sweden) News mediaspecialized for
business sector
Di.se, Aripaev.lv,Borsen.dk, Db.lv,Pb.pl, Business.hr
49.722
Lrt.lt LRT, state-owned publicservice broadcaster
Mainstreamnews media
no na
Table 7. Media owners with their main business interests outside the media field
Owner Other business
interests than media
Media outlets
MG Baltic Diverse business
interests
LNK and TV1television stations, Internet news portal
Alfa.lt, publishing houses Neo-press and UPG Baltic
Hermis Capital Private Equity
company
Regional dailies (Vilniaus diena, Kauno diena,
Klaipda)
Achema Group Major industry group BTV, Radio stations Radiocentras, RC2, Zip FM,
Russkoje Radio Baltija, the daily Lietuvos inios,
the regional newspaper Naujienos, printing houses
Titnagas and Ausra, and advertising agency Tango
reklama
Augustinas Rakauskas President of
association of
enterprises Senukai
Radio station iniradijas
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Table 8. Output of broadcasting by genre 20052006 (OSI & EUMAP program, www.eumap.org)
PSB output (hours), LTV Commercial stations output
(hours)
Genres 2005 2006 2005 2006
Information programs 1.234 1.098 (11.2%) 16.855 8.227 (7.6%)
News (including sports) 427 447 (4.6%) 14.922 4.161(3.8%)Other information programs 807 651 (6.7%) 1.933 4.065 (3.4%)Education 0 0 (0%) 805 1.409 (1.3%)Culture 350 248 (2.5%) 1.617 3.592 (3.3%)Religion 76 47 (0.5%) 79 146 (0.13%)Entertainment 1.970 2.103 (21.6%) 31.256 20.226 (18.8%)Movies, soap 1.082 2.830 (29%) 6.260 31.491 (29.2%)Music 350 119 (1.2%) 2.410 3.591 (3.3%)Sports, excluding sportsnews
184 219 (2.2%) 850 1.135 (1%)
Other entertainment 355 261 (2.7%) 12.926 12.028 (11.2%)
Other unclassified programs 1.215 1.319 (13.5%) 10.205 12.116 (11.3%)Advertising 91 402 (4.1%) 4.123 5.402 (5%)Total 8.141 9.744 (100%) 104.241 107.589 (100%)
Table 9. Access costs for various types of media in Lithuania.
Annual subscription of internet access 114 344 (depending on the speed of data
transfer)
Annual subscription of cable TV 139
Annual subscription of midmarket daily (Lietuvos rytas) 115
Annual subscription of regional daily (Kauno diena) 57
Annual subscription of tabloid daily (Vakaro zinios) 45