Updating media legislation, ensuring the resilience of media infrastructure, countering Russian information influence, and the specifics of the regulator’s work – Ukraine’s experience during the war is increasingly becoming a subject of practical interest for European partners. Cooperation between regulators highlights the importance of Europe’s shared information security. For the second time since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian media regulator hosted a delegation from Latvia’s National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), which is keen to learn from our practices.
The delegation included Ivars Abolins, NEPLP Chair, Andis Plakans, Member of the Council, Agnese Simsone, Head of Secretariat, and Māra Madara Luse, Head of the International Cooperation and Information Analytics Division.
For Latvia, where a significant part of the population is Russian-speaking and does not speak Latvian, issues of protecting the information space from provocative influences, ensuring the functioning of the state language, and strengthening national identity remain extremely relevant.
At the request of the Latvian colleagues, the National Council organized a series of meetings with Ukrainian partners. The goal was to complement the projects previously presented at the media regulator’s premises on combating hate speech and developing media literacy with practical case studies.
The delegation visited the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, where they learned about state initiatives for developing media literacy, implemented in cooperation with the civil society sector and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. They also learned more details about Ukraine’s activities within the Council of Europe’s campaign on journalist safety. In addition, Latvian colleagues became acquainted with the main directions of the “Filter” project. The results of the nationwide media literacy survey sparked particular interest – the Latvian representatives expressed their desire to review the research questionnaires.
At the Public Broadcaster, the guests learned about how television and radio operations are organized during wartime, including broadcasting during air raid alerts and mechanisms for countering disinformation, as well as new projects launched by the broadcaster after the full-scale invasion – both on-air and online. The discussion also covered issues of responsible war reporting and the rethinking of journalistic standards in wartime. Mykola Chernotytskyi, Chief Executive Officer of the Public Broadcaster of Ukraine, thanked the Latvian government for its assistance, which enabled the broadcaster to strengthen its energy resilience. In 2022, at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, the government allocated €559 640 for the purchase of generators and other equipment to ensure uninterrupted operation of the Public Broadcaster.
At the “TAVR Media” group, discussions focused on the interaction between the radio industry and the regulator, issues of language quotas and restrictions on Russian-language content, as well as the specifics of advertising regulation. In Latvia, Russian-language radio stations continue to operate, mainly in the eastern regions bordering Russia, where there is a large share of Russian-speaking population. The musical content of such stations is tailored to this audience, but programming takes into account sanction restrictions – artists under sanctions are prohibited from being broadcast, while others may still be aired. Advertising for gambling businesses and strong alcohol is also banned.
The Latvian representatives also visited the ICTV television channel, where, among other things, they met with the channel’s war correspondent, Oleh Korniienko, who shared his frontline experience and explained the nuances of working in frontline areas for foreign journalists. Ukrainian media professionals proposed organizing a series of events to share their acquired knowledge with Latvian colleagues. There was also discussion about the need to redefine and review classic journalistic principles in light of wartime realities. Oleksandr Bohutskyi, СЕО Starlight Media, expressed gratitude for the support provided by the Baltic countries to Ukraine and emphasized the importance of protecting the information space.
Let us recall that close cooperation between the National Council of Ukraine and NEPLP has been ongoing since 2022, when a Memorandum of cooperation was signed, providing for consultations, exchange of experience, and joint participation in international events in the field of media regulation. In October 2023, the National Council joined the Warsaw Declaration. On October 4 in Warsaw, the media regulators of Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine signed a Declaration on cooperation and mutual support in combating disinformation. This confirmed the intention of the participating countries to jointly counter propaganda, primarily Russian, within their societies.
