Nordic Council of Ministers to continue supporting Baltic Russian media
The committee for Nordic cooperation of the Nordic Council of Ministers decided on Saturday to continue funding a programme supporting Russian-language media production and a media-critical approach in the Baltic countries, including ERR’s Russian-language TV station ETV+.
“The previous media cooperation project demonstrated that this is an area in which Nordic experience really is of use,” secretary-general of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Dagfinn Hoybraten, said. “We believe that this new programme will confirm this,” he added.
Between 2014 and 2016, the Nordic Council of Ministers implemented a programme that encompassed media production, media knowledge, and media criticism for the Russian-speaking minority living in the Baltic countries.
The programme was a success and attracted considerable interest both within the media and in politics. The objective of the new programme is to continue the support consolidate the activities of independent Russian-language media in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Direct development and production support will be paid to the Russian-language television channel ETV+ in Estonia and to radio productions in Latvia. Additionally the Eastern Europe Studies Center will coordinate the production of programmes for the Russian and Polish-speaking minorities in Lithuania.
An important element of the programme is disseminating greater knowledge about media and source criticism to journalists, teachers, and media consumers.
The majority of the Baltic Russian-speaking populations depend on news and current affairs programming solely from state-controlled Russian media. But the promotion of democracy in the Baltic countries required the production of qualitative and independent media, even in Russian, the council found.
Editor: Dario Cavegn
Source: BNS