In recent years, the importance of an independent and strong media in our society has grown even further. Therefore, it is timely to discuss what kind of media policy we want for the coming years. The fact that the Ministry of Culture, which is responsible for the media sector, has been able to accomplish many commendable tasks helps to steer this discussion in a constructive direction.
Most importantly, funding for the Media Support Fund has increased several-fold.
We can now turn our attention to discussing the media policy guidelines, which will serve as the key policy document for the media sector in the coming years. A gradual increase in available funding is also one of the central tasks for the coming years. Equally important is finding an optimal solution for the relationship between Latvian media and global digital platforms such as Facebook, Google, and others. The third task will be to promote digital transformation in the Latvian media. It should be noted here that the Ministry of Culture has secured significant funding for this purpose from European Union funds. The fourth task is to continue working on journalistic and media accountability and on improving media ombudsman institutions. The role of local media in Latvia is particularly important, given that the contribution of journalists is vital to the preservation and development of Latvian as a small language.
The next challenge is, to a large extent, a new one: namely, Latvian media—especially news agencies—must engage in unified cooperation with news agencies from other European Union countries. European Union institutions are currently providing assistance to establish international cooperation among news agencies.
With the support of government institutions, the Latvian media sector will be able to preserve the diversity of media perspectives necessary for a democratic society.
Experts discussed this range of issues at the seminar on December 13:
- Nauris Puntulis, Minister of Culture, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia,
- Sarmīte Ēlerte, Advisor to the President,
- Konstantīns Kuzikovs, Chairman of the Board of Delfi,
- Guntars Līcis, Vice Chair of the Board of the Latvian Association of Press Publishers,
- Andris Ķēniņš, Director of the Latvian Association of Broadcasters,
- Ieva Meļķe, Member of the Board of the TV3 Group,
- Gunta Līdaka, Ph.D. candidate at RSU, media expert.
The seminar will be moderated by Armands Gutmanis, Director of META Advisory Latvia.
