LSM reprimands editors over storm coverage

The Latvian Public Media (LSM) board has reprimanded its chief editor, Anita Brauna, and Latvian Radio News Service chief editor Zane Eniņa for professional conduct that did not meet the responsibilities of their positions during the storm on August 22 and 23, LSM reported.

LSM said the board had assessed each employee’s duties, authority, professional responsibility, actions in the situation and explanations. It concluded that the seriousness of the storm was not assessed quickly enough and that decisions on adapting content and programming were not made promptly.

LSM said the two editors had received disciplinary sanctions. LTV reported that the sanctions were reprimands.

Other employees included in the review received verbal warnings. The board said it had found no grounds to end any of the employees’ employment.

The review also found that the problems could not be attributed only to individual employees. The storm exposed shortcomings in LSM’s internal cooperation, decision-making and ability to adapt programming quickly as the situation developed.

LSM is reviewing its procedures for crisis management, decision-making and cooperation between editorial teams alongside its assessment of individual responsibility.

LSM has acknowledged that Latvian Radio 1 initially underestimated the seriousness of the situation and did not reorganise its work to match the scale of the storm. News bulletins continued and were later broadcast more frequently, but the station needed to switch to an intensified news format much sooner.

LSM said this was particularly important in regions where power and electronic communications disruptions left radio as almost the only available source of information.

LSM said it was continuing work on changes to improve coordination and decision-making and to ensure that its response during crises matches developments and the public’s need for information.