LRT director calls government’s media law reform a ‘smokescreen’ for her dismissal

The head of Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT has accused lawmakers of using proposed legal amendments as a pretext to remove her from office, LRT reports.

Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė, director general of Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), said the draft law prepared by a working group led by Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas is designed to ease her dismissal. She described the proposal as a “smokescreen” for that single purpose.

“The working group produced this Frankenstein of a draft law—it’s half-baked. Now the Culture Committee and others are dealing with the fallout,” she told ELTA Kampas. “When it comes to the director general’s dismissal, this entire draft was created as a smokescreen for that one goal.”

Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė claimed authorities openly view LRT as a state rather than public broadcaster. “They’ve said repeatedly, including now in the Culture Committee, that they’ll discuss the ‘director general’s dismissal clause.’ The goal is obvious,” she said.

She accused officials of ignoring LRT’s actual coverage, which she said devotes significant airtime to government perspectives. “They claim LRT isn’t visible enough or reflects them poorly—I completely disagree. We spend plenty of time explaining and commenting on their initiatives,” she said.

The director called the draft law worse than previous versions, arguing it would undermine LRT’s independence. “I see no positive aspects. It’s worse than before,” she said, warning the changes would turn LRT into a “government-dependent” rather than public broadcaster.

Key proposals include creating a governing board for LRT, altering its council’s composition, and introducing new grounds for early dismissal of the director general. Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė questioned the board’s practical role: “Will it work full-time or just meet once a month? How will functions be divided?”

She argued the reforms would bureaucratise LRT, reducing flexibility in a “not-large organisation that must operate efficiently.” Expanding the council and adding a board and bureau, she said, would “bring neither agility nor effectiveness, nor more competence.”

The Culture Committee is currently reviewing the draft but postponed a decision Wednesday to await an opinion from the Venice Commission, which has already issued findings pending translation. Previous versions of the amendments sparked public protests.

Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė warned that if the original draft passes, it would violate LRT’s constitutional status and its editorial and institutional independence, as recognised by Lithuania’s Constitutional Court.