Council orders LSM storm review but keeps board in place

Latvia’s Public Electronic Mass Media Council (SEPLP) has ordered the Latvian Public Media (LSM) to assess the work of four senior officials following errors during last weekend’s storm, LSM reported. The council will not seek the dismissal of LSM board members.

SEPLP made the decision on Thursday after hearing from the LSM board about Latvian Radio’s work during the storm.

The council said LSM had failed to provide residents with sufficient and timely information about the storm’s consequences and the response to the damage. It said this was particularly significant because the loss of electricity and electronic communications had left FM radio as the only source of current information for a considerable number of people in Latvia.

According to SEPLP, the inadequate public information resulted from editorial decisions and was not the direct responsibility of the LSM board. The council said the board had acted promptly and within its remit by ensuring the continued availability of services across Latvia, coordinating the work of the responsible units and urging them to assess the scale of the situation.

SEPLP therefore said it saw no grounds to recall the LSM board, any of its members or its chairperson.

The council ordered LSM to assess the responsibility of Latvian Radio 1 director Inese Matjušonoka, Latvian Radio News Service head Uģis Lībietis, LSM editor-in-chief Anita Brauna and Latvian Television programming director Jana Semjonova. An explanation has already been requested from Lībietis, Matjušonoka and Brauna. Semjonova will be asked for one after she returns from leave.

The assessment of the officials’ responsibility must be completed by October 15. LSM has also been ordered to review several internal regulations, including job descriptions, by December 1 to prevent similar errors.