EBU warns LRT probe could threaten editorial independence

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) says it is closely monitoring a Lithuanian prosecutors’ inquiry into LRT’s rules on covert information gathering, warning that the investigation could threaten editorial independence. LRT reported the EBU’s statement.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has asked LRT director Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė for information about the public broadcaster’s editorial policy on covert information gathering. Prosecutors say they are investigating a possible violation of the public interest.

The EBU said authorities have the right to enforce the law and protect people’s rights, but should not examine how newsrooms make individual editorial decisions. It said the questions sent to LRT seek details about how covert recordings are requested and authorised, what evidence editors require, how the process is supervised, who can access the material and whether requests, including rejected ones, are recorded.

Such records could expose confidential sources or unpublished investigations, the EBU said, and discourage future investigative reporting. It cited the European Media Freedom Act as protecting media organisations from state interference in editorial policy and decisions, and safeguarding the editorial and functional independence of public service media.

LRT’s editorial policy allows journalists to gather information covertly only in exceptional cases, when there is evidence that the conduct being recorded could demonstrate unlawful or dishonest actions of clear public interest. Journalists must also obtain prior approval from a responsible editor.

The Prosecutor General’s Office sent LRT 15 questions. The EBU urged prosecutors to ensure their inquiry is necessary and proportionate, respects LRT’s editorial independence and does not seek information that could reveal confidential sources or unpublished investigations. It said it supports LRT and is ready to help facilitate constructive dialogue with Lithuanian authorities.