is There Life afTer The crisis? Analysis Of The Baltic Media’s Finances And Audiences (2008-2014) Rudīte Spakovska, Sanita Jemberga, Aija Krūtaine, Inga Spriņģe is There Life afTer The crisis? Analysis Of The Baltic Media’s Finances And Audiences (2008-2014) Rudīte Spakovska, Sanita Jemberga, Aija Krūtaine, Inga Spriņģe Sources of information: Lursoft – database on companies Lithuanian Company Register ORBIS – database of companies, ownership and financial data worldwide. Data harvesters: Rudīte Spakovska, Aija Krūtaine, Mikk Salu, Mantas Dubauskas Authors: Rudīte Spakovska, Sanita Jemberga, Aija Krūtaine, Inga Spriņģe Special thanks to Anders Alexanderson, Uldis Brūns, Ārons Eglītis For re-publishing written permission shall be obtained prior to publishing. © The Centre for Media Studies at SSE Riga © The Baltic Center for Investigative Journalism Re:Baltica Riga, 2014 Is There Life After The Crisis? Analysis Of The Baltic Media’s Finances And Audiences (2008-2014) Contents How Baltic Media Experts View the Sector ...............................................................................................................4 Introduction: Media After Crisis ..................................................................................................................................7 Main Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................................8 Changes In Turnover of Leading Baltic Media, 2013 vs 2008 ................................................................................9 The Scariest Victim - Media Freedom .......................................................................................................................12 Media As Working Poor ...............................................................................................................................................14 TOP 5 Baltic Media And Their Owners ...................................................................................................................21 The Largest Baltic Media Holdings ............................................................................................................................23 TOP 5 Newspapers In The Baltics And Their Financial Indicators ....................................................................29 TOP 5 Magazines In The Baltics And Their Financial Indicators ........................................................................33 TOP 5 Internet Media Websites In The Baltics And Their Financial Indicators ...............................................37 TOP 5 Radio Stations In The Baltics And Their Financial Indicators.................................................................41 TOP 5 TV Channels In The Baltics And Their financial Indicators ....................................................................44 3 Is There Life After The Crisis? Analysis Of The Baltic Media’s Finances And Audiences (2008-2014) Lithuania: Auksė Balčytienė Professor at the Public Communication Department at Vytautas Magnus University What is currently the greatest challenge for the What are the characteristics of media media in Lithuania? consumption in Lithuania? I think that the most burning issue is the professionalism of Internet media already dominate the media environment journalists, the rejection of mutual solidarity and standards. in Lithuania, just like in the rest of the Baltics, and this I think that journalists have their personal interests in mind is unique. In this sense, we differ greatly from Central a little too much. Of course there are editorial boards European countries. Compared with, for example, Poland, where journalists’ standards are high, but there are also it’s as if we were from different planets. The traditional commercial media, which are incurring losses and as a media are still the leaders there. result are very oriented to gaining income. In these places, journalists even abandon professional standards as a result Is the profession of journalism in Lithuania a of pressure from an editor-in-chief and adopt the motto: desirable one? “If we can earn money through this, we’ll do it!” On the Students enrol in the communications faculty, but they other hand more powerful editorial boards are appearing, are attracted to the creative industries – public relations, not many, two or three, and among them there are public projects, marketing and not just journalism. At the same media editorial boards, but the situation is getting worse in time, journalists are also among the opinion leaders in the the most popular media as a whole. country, and these are young professional journalists. Overall, the situation in Lithuania is better than it was – What is happening to print media in Lithuania? there are flickers of hope. There are editorial boards They are suffering and I think that print media will die which are improving their work and there are examples of out. Women’s and gossip magazines are too popular to journalists cooperating, and raising standards. Such events be considered as mass media, but daily newspapers, to as the Ukrainian crisis and external threats have forced my mind, are so marginal that they will soon disappear. editorial boards and journalists to rethink what sort of news In actual fact, they have already disappeared, especially in they provide and what sort of daily agenda they are setting. the regions, whereas the national newspapers with small We are heading in the right direction. It’s true that there’s circulation are surviving with insignificant advertising and still a long road ahead. various contracts with businesses. This is very sad. What is happening with the Russian language press? It is marginal and doesn’t set the national agenda in Lithuania. There’s PBK, but it’s audience is so small and we can’t talk about the Russian language media as being influential in Lithuania. 4 Is There Life After The Crisis? Analysis Of The Baltic Media’s Finances And Audiences (2008-2014) Latvia: Anda Rožukalne Rīga Stradiņš University, Head of the Department of Communication Studies What is currently the greatest challenge for the Speculating about the future of the press: what media? will there be of the print media in Latvia in five In Latvia, both the creators of media content, as well as the years’ time? audience accept that water is being mixed with oil: when it In five years’ time, only Latvijas Avīze will be coming out. is convenient, journalism is called independent, honest and Despite everything, it has been able to maintain its goal and professional; when it is not – the words dishonest, corrupt classical elements of journalism, for example, satire, up till and tendentious journalism flood in. Furthermore, from a now. Regional newspapers will also keep coming out. number of traditional media functions (ed. - for example, to Magazines will establish their place, and that’s not bad. promote discussion, to be a watchdog, to follow and analyse Even though gossip and women’s magazines are the market the work of public officials), the view now prevails in the leaders, specific publications and in-depth publications on media environment that the main thing is to entertain. That nature, travel, the environment or science are establishing is not the case, however. People also want to get serious themselves. professional information and many people living in Latvia New media are evolving and the majority of them are not can’t find what interests them. being created by media specialists. Currently, amateurs are Everybody is involved in the creation of this situation at entering the media environment like they did in the 1990s – the moment. It is not as if all of the audience is hungry and they are activists, who at times, set even higher demands for ready to pay for high quality journalism. There is a section their content than the professionals. of the audience which seeks quality and is ready to pay for it, but the majority of them have, over the decades, become What is happening with the Russian language used to being consumers and wait to be entertained. press? The influence of Russia’s media in Latvia wouldn’t be so What is happening with the print media? great if it wasn’t repeated by the local Russian language Newspapers are failing throughout the world, but in Latvia media. The feeling of being a victim, and the raising of the they are failing in a degraded way, with the conviction that national issue as an absolute and also just taking a one-sided we don’t even have a base for nostalgia any more, that opinion, are all characteristics of the majority of the local there aren’t any values to renew. National newspapers have media. The feeling of being a victim has also destroyed become marginal and don’t determine the daily agenda. a number of media – a generation has grown up that is This role has been assumed by internet portals. Of course, not interested. There are no Russian speaking young people there are also market factors – Latvian newspapers delayed in any Latvian media, irrespective of what language they their entry to the internet, there was the financial crisis, speak. They get enough information from Facebook and but Latvia’s national newspapers mainly suffered because Livejournal. professionals reconciled themselves and tried to work There is a view that independent journalism doesn’t pay according to the interests of the owners. Can we really say and doesn’t work. But practice shows – if you only provide that some