Liisu Lass apologises for live broadcast incident

ERR presenter Liisu Lass has apologised for what happened during Wednesday evening’s live broadcast of the political programme First Studio, saying the entire production team made a mistake. She said the incident involving Reform Party Secretary Kristo Enn Vaga required the team to reconsider how such situations are handled on air.

Lass said the programme initially appeared to be proceeding normally, with political heavyweights debating a topical issue. Vaga was appearing on First Studio and taking part in a major debate for the first time.

During the first 10 minutes, Lass noticed Vaga fall to her left. He quickly stood up and returned to the lectern. She said he appeared to sway briefly, but when she asked whether everything was all right using a hand signal, he gave her a thumbs-up.

Co-host Johannes Kuusk brought Vaga a chair and asked whether he was all right. Vaga replied that they should continue.

Lass said the programme continued while she tried to assess whether Vaga was genuinely feeling better. She acknowledged that the signs indicating he was not well may have become clear before the presenters recognised them.

She said viewers saw a moment that she and Kuusk did not fully see in the studio because Vaga was standing in profile. His response to a question eventually revealed that he was in serious difficulty, Lass wrote, adding that neither the question nor the answer should have reached the broadcast.

Kuusk then went to help Vaga while signalling to Lass to continue, as the presenters communicate through agreed hand signals during live broadcasts to avoid speaking over the programme.

Lass said she was deeply sorry and that the team would have to rethink how it handles similar situations in the future. She also recalled a previous incident on the Terevisioon television programme when a guest became unwell live on air, as well as a 2014 parliamentary election debate involving Edgar Savisaar.