Director Allikmaa Stays On After Public Broadcaster's Supervisory Board Vote
Estonian Public Broadcasting's (ERR) supervisory board split 4-4 last night in a vote on whether director Margus Allikmaa should continue, falling short of the six votes needed to unseat him.
It was essentially a referendum on Allikmaa's actions in the past weeks after the director ousted the popular head of the sports desk, Marko Kaljuveer, saying Kaljuveer was gravitating too much to the interests of more popular sports rather than pushing coverage of all sports in which Estonians represent the country.
Allikmaa's decision radiated into the ranks of ERR's employees, with two petitions circulating from opposing sides. ERR News remained out of the fray - and was largely unaffected by the issue - and, as in other units, staff were told they could express their conscience without fear of reprisals.
Kaljuveer's sacking also prompted supervisory board member Hanno Tomberg to resign in protest. Tuesday night's meeting also elected a replacement for Tomberg. It will be Ainar Ruussaar, former ETV head and current head of BNS editorial operations.