More than 200 employees of Latvian Public Media (LSM) have written an open letter to the Saeima Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee and Saeima members calling for a planned rapid reading of media law proposals to be dropped, as well as for the committee to support proposals submitted by the public media watchdog to ensure the independence of LSM in future.
The letter (attached to this story) was signed by 220 employees including cameramen, directors, producers, journalists, editors and others, as well as LSM editor-in-chief Anita Brauna and expresses fears of political interference in the work of independent media.
Documents
LSM darbinieku atklātā vēstule deputātiem
One of the authors of the letter, Latvian Television director Agita Cāne-Ķīle, called on the commission not to grant "urgent" status to the current proposals at its meeting on Wednesday. Usually for laws or amendments to be passed by Latvia's parliament, they must pass through three readings. However, if "urgent" status is granted to them, they may be passed in only two readings, and the current proposals have this status.
This in turn means that potentially important media legislation could be passed by parliament in its final days before a new Saeima is sworn in on November 3rd.
The letter states that the amendments "are driven by good intentions" to protect the historical identities of Latvian Radio and Latvian Television but that they disproportionately regulate the internal operations of LSM and pose risks to its editorial independence.
"The media must be able to independently decide how its content reaches its audience. If these decisions are regulated by law, rather than editorial and professional assessment, the media's independence, accessibility, and credibility in the eyes of the public suffer," the open letter emphasizes.
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