A discussion entitled ‘Is the media in other languages part of the Lithuanian media landscape?’ took place at the House of Ethnic Communities on 27 April.
The discussion was attended by Vaiva Radikaitė, Chair of the Media Support Fund Council and Chair of the Public Information Ethics Commission; Commission members Gabrielė Burbulytė Tsiskarishvili and Jurga Tvaskienė; Ruslanas Iržikevičius, Director of the Media Support Fund; Dainius Radzevičius, Inspector of Journalistic Ethics, and representatives of the media in the languages of national communities. The discussion was moderated by Ernest Alesin, Deputy Chair of the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union for International Affairs and Head of the Association of the Lithuanian Media in the Languages of National Communities.
Those gathered discussed issues of self-regulation and journalistic ethics. It was emphasised that media in the languages of national communities is an integral part of the Lithuanian media system. There was also discussion on the need to strengthen ties with a wider audience in the regions and to encourage cooperation between large and small media outlets in content creation. The changing role of the journalist in the contemporary media environment and the expansion of the boundaries of journalism were also discussed separately.
Ruslanas Iržikevičius, Director of the Media Support Fund, emphasised that media in the languages of national communities is of particular importance, which is why the Fund has a separate sub-programme dedicated to it. He noted that adequate and sustainable funding is essential to ensure a high-quality media ecosystem. Responding to the comments made by participants in the discussion, the director agreed that the selection criteria for funded projects could be improved, as the Fund is open to dialogue. He also urged media representatives to engage more actively in dialogue with decision-makers regarding funding priorities.
Participants in the discussion agreed to engage more actively in self-regulation processes, seek common solutions and continue the dialogue in the future, utilising various forms of cooperation.
