Monitoring media pluralism in the digital era : application of the Media Pluralism Monitor in the European Member States and candidate countries in 2023 : country report : Lithuania.
Date: 2024-07-30
Institutions: European University Institute
Subjects: EU candidate countries, European Union, Lithuania, access to EU information, communications profession, digital technology, freedom of communication, mass media, pluralism in the media, report, right to information

MONITORING MEDIA
PLURALISM IN THE DIGITAL ERA
APPLICATION OF THE MEDIA PLURALISM
MONITOR IN THE EUROPEAN MEMBER
STATES AND CANDIDATE COUNTRIES IN
2023

Country report: Lithuania

Deimantas Jastramskis, Vilnius University

Aukse Balcytiene, Vytautas Magnus University

Research Project Report

Issue -

June 2024

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. About the project

1.1. Overview of the Project

1.2. Methodological notes

2.

Introduction

3. Results of the data collection: Assessment of the risks to media

pluralism

3.1. Fundamental Protection (29% - low risk)

3.2. Market Plurality (70% - high risk)

3.3. Political Independence (32% - low risk)

3.4. Social Inclusiveness (34% - medium risk)

4. Conclusions

5. Notes

6. References

Annexe I. Country Team

Annexe II. Group of Experts

4

4

4

6

8

11

14

16

19

23

25

26

 
 
 
 
 
 
© European University Institute 2024
Editorial matter and selection © Deimantas Jastramskis, Aukse Balcytiene, 2024

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Views expressed in this publication reflect the opinion of individual authors and not those of
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1. About the project

1.1. Overview of the Project

The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is a research tool that is designed to identify potential risks to media
pluralism in the Member States of the European Union and in Candidate Countries. This narrative report
has been produced on the basis of the implementation of the MPM that was carried out in 2023. The
implementation was conducted in 27 EU Member States, as well as in Albania, Montenegro, The Republic
of North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. This year a part of the MPM has also been piloted in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Moldova. This project, under a preparatory action of the European Parliament, was
supported by a grant awarded by the European Commission to the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media
Freedom (CMPF) at the European University Institute.

1.2. Methodological notes

Authorship and Review

The CMPF partners with experienced, independent national researchers to carry out the data collection and
to author the narrative reports. The research is based on a standardised questionnaire that was developed
by the CMPF.

In Lithuania the CMPF partnered with Assoc. Prof. Deimantas Jastramskis (Vilnius University), Prof. Aukse
Balcytiene (Vytautas Magnus University), who conducted the data collection, scored and commented on the
variables in the questionnaire and interviewed experts. The report was reviewed by the CMPF staff.
Moreover, to ensure accurate and reliable findings, a group of national experts in each country reviewed the
answers to particularly evaluative questions (see Annexe II for the list of experts). For a list of selected
countries, the final country report was peer-reviewed by an independent country expert. Risks to media
pluralism are examined in four main thematic areas: Fundamental Protection, Market Plurality, Political
Independence and Social Inclusiveness. The results are based on the assessment of a number of indicators
for each thematic area (see Table 1). 

The Digital Dimension

The Monitor does not consider the digital dimension to be an isolated area but, rather, as being intertwined
with the traditional media and the existing principles of media pluralism and freedom of expression.
Nevertheless, the Monitor also extracts digitally specific risk scores, and the report contains a specific
analysis of the risks that related to the digital news environment.

The Calculation of Risk

The results for each thematic area and Indicator are presented on a scale from 0 to 100%. 

Scores between 0% and 33%:  low risk

Scores between 34% and 66%: medium risk

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Scores between 67% and 100%: high risk

With regard to the Indicators, scores of 0 are rated as 3%, while scores of 100 are rated as 97%, by default,
in order to avoid an assessment that offers a total absence, or certainty, of risk.

Fundamental Protection

Market Plurality

Political Independence

Social Inclusiveness

Protection of freedom of
expression

Transparency of media
ownership

Political independence of
the media

Representation of
minorities

Protection of right to
information

Plurality of media
providers

Editorial autonomy

Plurality in digital markets Audiovisual media, online

Journalistic profession,
standards and protection

Independence and
effectiveness of the media
authority

Media viability

Universal reach of
traditional media and
access to the Internet

Editorial independence
from commercial and
owners' influence

platforms and elections

State regulation of
resources and support to
the media sector

Independence of PSM

Local/regional and
community media

Gender equality in the
media

Media Literacy

Protection against
disinformation and hate
speech

Table 1: Areas and Indicators of the Media Pluralism Monitor 

Methodological Changes 

For every edition of the MPM, the CMPF updates and fine-tunes the questionnaire, based on the evaluation
of the tool after its implementation, the results of previous data collection and the existence of newly
available data. The results obtained for these indicators are therefore not strictly comparable with those
results obtained in the previous edition of the MPM. The methodological changes are explained on the
CMPF website at http://cmpf.eui.eu/media-pluralism-monitor/.

Disclaimer: The content of the report does not necessarily reflect the views of the CMPF, nor the
position of the members composing the Group of Experts. It represents the views of the national
country team who carried out the data collection and authored the report. Due to updates and
refinements in the questionnaire, MPM2024 scores may not be fully comparable with those in the
previous editions of the MPM. For more details regarding the project, see the CMPF report on
MPM2024, which is available on: http://cmpf.eui.eu/media-pluralism-monitor/.

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2. Introduction

Country overview. Lithuania (65 286 km²) is situated on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea. It is
bordered by Latvia to the North, Belarus to the East and South, Poland to the South, and Kaliningrad
Oblast (a Russian Federation territory) to the Southwest.

Population. The resident population of Lithuania amounted to 2.86 million inhabitants in 2023. The
demographic decline in the country has been observed since the early 1990s for different reasons,
including low birth rate, mortality and immense emigration. Only in the last couple of years the net
international migration has shifted into positive - the number of immigrants exceeded that of emigrants.
Those who are arriving in Lithuania mainly include Belarusians, Ukrainians and returning Lithuanian
citizens. Vilnius is the only city in the country that has grown over the last decade. The capital’s official
population is over 500,000. Most of Lithuania’s population resides in cities: over two-thirds, or 68.4%, of
the Lithuanian population live in urban areas (Official Statistics Portal, 2024).

Minorities and languages. The official language of the country is Lithuanian. At the beginning of 2023,
the resident population was composed of Lithuanians (83.6%), Poles (6.4%), Russians (5.1%),
Belarusians (1.7%), Ukrainians (1.6%), and other (1.6%). There are 154 nationalities living in Lithuania
(Official Statistics Portal, 2024).

Economic situation. Lithuania’s real gross domestic product decreased by 0.3% in 2023 compared to
2022 (Vz.lt, 2024). Average annual
inflation in 2023 reached 9.1% and decreased more than twice
compared to 2022 (19.7%) (Official Statistics Portal, 2024). External factors had the greatest influence
on the Lithuanian economy - the decreasing demand in export markets and the rapidly increasing base
interest rates of the European Central Bank. In 2023, a significant push towards transforming country's
energy system also took place (BNS, 2023).

Political situation. After the last parliamentary elections in 2020, the government coalition was formed
by the Conservatives (the Homeland Union - Lithuanian Christian Democrats) and the Liberals (the
Liberal Movement and the Freedom Party). The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, the opposition in
the parliament, received the most mandates for mayors and council members in the 2023 municipal
elections. This indicates a change in voter opinion, which is not favourable to the coalition of ruling
parties. Many important political decisions for Lithuania are dictated by the context of the Russian war
in Ukraine. In 2023, the share of the state budget devoted to defence was increased. In addition, a
bank solidarity tax was introduced to finance state defence. The activities of the government coalition
are overshadowed by the planned and unimplemented tax system reform, as well as the unadopted
same-sex partnership law.

Media market. LNK and TV3 groups dominate the TV advertising revenue market, while M-1 and
Radiocentras groups dominate the radio advertising market. In the fight for audience in the TV and
radio markets, public TV and radio (LRT) competes significantly with the main commercial players. The
website market is more competitive, as 4 main private media outlets compete for advertising revenue:
Delfi.lt, 15min.lt, Lrytas.lt and Tv3.lt, while the public media Lrt.lt website seriously competes for
audience attention with commercial players. In 2023, two newspapers, published three times a week,
competed in the market of national daily newspapers: Lietuvos rytas and Vakaros žinios, but from
2024, Lietuvos rytas became a weekly newspaper. The audiovisual advertising market increased by
16%, the digital native media advertising market increased by 15,6% and the radio advertising market

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increased by 3,9% in the first semester of 2023. However, the newspaper advertising market declined
by 4,3% in the same period. The year 2023 was marked by the development of subscription digital
news content. The third major private commercial news website (Lrytas.lt) has charged some content
online. Delfi.lt, 15min.lt and Vz.lt websites increased the number of digital subscribers. Local media
digital subscription initiatives are relatively limited, and the old paper newspaper business model still
dominates. Subsidies for the PSM increased by 14%, but subsidies for private media did not increase
in 2023. The very limited funding of the Press, Radio, and Television Support Foundation did little to
support national online media, which makes it difficult to compete in the advertising market with global
players (Facebook, Google, Youtube, etc.).

thereby more effectively ensuring the public's right

Regulatory Environment. Since 2023, journalists have been allowed to obtain current and archival
data on all personal real estate,
to receive
information (Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, 2022). In regulating media concentration,
the 2023 Competition Council made an important decision stating that the Estonian company Ekspress
grupp (which manages the main news website Delfi.lt) violated the law by executing a merger with the
company Lrytas and acquiring the competing news website Lrytas.lt. Ekspress grupp appealed this
decision of the Competition Council to the court (BNS, 2024).

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3. Results of the data collection: Assessment of the risks to media pluralism

Implementing the MPM 2024 in Lithuania indicates that three areas (Fundamental Protection, Political
Independence, and Social Inclusiveness) are at low risk, and the Market Plurality area is at high risk. In
two areas, the risk assessment changed from medium to low risk, although this was due to a marginal
decrease of 3pp: in the Political Independence area, from 35% to 32%, and in the Social Inclusiveness
area, from 36% to 33%. The Fundamental Protection risk assessment changed from 17% to 29% and
returned to the previous year’s (MPM 2022) level. The Market Plurality area indicating high risk (70%)
shows no significant change compared to MPM 2023 (69%).

In general, freedom of expression is respected in Lithuania. Fundamental Protection remains a low-risk
area. However, a significant risk increase has been recorded in the Protection of Right to Information
indicator. The national journalists’ survey data highlighted the problem of state and municipal institutions not
providing relevant information, when officials appeal to personal data protection, GDPR and misuse the
procedure (Jastramskis, 2024a). Whistleblower protection is also not effective enough in Lithuania.
Moreover, while physical attacks against Lithuanian journalists are quite rare, psychological threats related
to the profession are relatively common. Journalists working in regional or local media experience more
various forms of insecurity compared to those working in national media. Regarding the effectiveness of the
media authority, the law attributes sanctioning powers to the media authorities, but these sanctions are not
always respected by global companies. The Indicator of Universal reach of traditional media and access to
the Internet in 2023 moved from low to medium risk. This was caused by the slow increase in broadband
coverage and Internet access when applying the relative evaluation method with other countries.

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The Market Plurality area contrasts with the other areas, as it only indicates high risk. The national law
contains specific provisions requiring the disclosure of ownership details in the news media sector. In media
ownership declaration practices, most information is usually available on the owners of the first level of the
ownership structure. However, the ultimate beneficiaries, natural persons, often remain undisclosed in the
media registry system VIRSIS. Lithuania has no special
the ownership
concentration of the media organizations or the shares of the market that they occupy. This leads to a high
concentration of media markets. The global corporations Meta and Google dominate the Lithuanian Internet
advertising market, but Lithuania does not intend to introduce any digital services tax intended specifically
intermediaries and local
for global corporations. There are also no financial agreements between digital
news media producers, to remunerate the publishers using copyright-protected content, or more generally
to contribute to their financing. Subsidies for the PSM increased by 14% but subsidies for private media did
not increase in 2023.

legal acts that would restrict

The risk in the Political Independence area is assessed as low. But a score of 32% is a borderline close to
medium risk. This low-risk situation is mainly due to the guaranteed autonomy of PSM from political
influences. The PSM ensures fair time allocation to political candidates during electoral campaigns,
adhering to the principle of equality also. However, the risks of political independence of private media,
especially regional/local ones, are much higher. Certain Lithuanian political parties exert influence on local
media content through their members or individuals associated with them in the ownership structures or
management positions of media companies across various Lithuanian municipalities. Major private national
media organizations do not possess direct ties to political
influence, but similar to private local media
outlets, they operate within a landscape fraught with commercial-political risks, where public contracts and
other
financial streams originating from political sources could potentially compromise the media’s
autonomy from political forces. The main challenge remains due to the distribution of state advertising,
which is not always fair and transparent. Unclear schemes for the distribution of state publicity money
through communication agencies to media outlets create conditions for corruption. In 2023, it became clear
that some members of
the Lithuanian parliament purchased media sponsorship services in a non-
transparent manner, using state funds for parliamentary activities (Tvaskienė, 2023).

The risk of the Social Inclusiveness area was at the last point of low risk (33%) in 2023. The situation is
notably improved regarding the indicator of Representation of minorities in the media. The reduction of the
risk is largely attributed to obvious efforts by the media to diversify content to ethnic and linguistic groups
and to enhance overall quality. The indicator of Media literacy shows significant improvement due to the
gradual and strategic measures implemented in the past years. These initiatives cover strategic and
practical moves in several sectors, such as organization of media literacy competencies in education,
focused media literacy trainings with libraries networks on national and regional levels, and partnerships
with public information providers. The risk level of Protection against disinformation and hate
speech indicator exhibits heightened risk. Even though effective measures have been taken to fight
disinformation by the national authorities, the level of societal resilience is still limited.

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  Focus on the digital environment

Analysis of digital environment pluralism indicators shows similar trends to those in the conventional
news media environment. The area of Market Plurality generates the highest ranking among all
other risk areas. This has been a tendency registered also in the previous years.The biggest change
in the assessment of
the digital environment occurred in the Fundamental Protection area.
Compared to last year, low risk (19%) turned into medium (38%). This was caused not only by a
methodological change in the assessment of broadband coverage and Internet access, but also by
the emerging work problems of journalists when they are not provided with relevant information in
state and municipal institutions when officials appeal to personal data protection, GDPR and misuse
the procedure.

Another more significant change in the digital environment was recorded in Social Inclusiveness
area, where the score decreased from 52% to 38%. This was mainly due to the evaluation of
individuals information and data literacy skills, which was in the medium risk range. Meanwhile, in
previous years, the assessment of overall digital skills was in the high-risk range.

Changes in the digital environment in the areas of Market Plurality and Political Independence
were not substantial and amounted to a few percentage points.

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3.1. Fundamental Protection (29% - low risk)

The Fundamental Protection indicators represent the regulatory backbone of the media sector in every
contemporary democracy. They measure a number of potential areas of risk, including the existence and
effectiveness of the implementation of regulatory safeguards for freedom of expression and the right to
information; the status of journalists in each country, including their protection and ability to work; the
independence and effectiveness of the national regulatory bodies that have the competence to regulate the
media sector, and the reach of traditional media and access to the Internet.

Fundamental Protection remains a low-risk area. Compared to last year’s report,
the Fundamental
protection risk assessment changed from 17 to 29% and returned to the previous year’s level (MPM2022:
29%, MPM2021 - 31%). This change is related to the possibility of using a new database on the situation of
journalism in Lithuania (Jastramskis et al., 2023, Jastramskis, 2024a), which allowed a more detailed
assessment of
journalists’ working conditions and obstacles to obtaining information from state and
municipal institutions. Another factor that led to the growth of risk was the rather slow increase of broadband
coverage and Internet access when applying the relative evaluation method with other countries.

The indicator on Protection of freedom of expression has remained stable at 15%. In general, freedom of
expression is respected in practice in Lithuania. Although defamation is still treated as a criminal offense
(Art. 154, Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, 2022) however, no journalist was tried in cases where
defamation decisions were made in 2023. Members of civil society have complaints about the transparency
standards of information filtering/removing on global platforms (mainly because of the most popular network
in Lithuania, Facebook) and especially in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine. These practices have not
only ignited public discourse but have also led the Lithuanian government to seek clarification from Meta
(Lrytas.lt, 2023).

A significant increase of risk (from 17% to 35%) has been recorded regarding the Protection of Right to
Information. This is largely due to data from a national survey of journalists, which shows that almost a fifth
of journalists highlighted the problem of state and municipal institutions not providing relevant information
when officials appeal to personal data protection, GDPR and misuse the procedure (Jastramskis, 2024a).
On the other hand, whistleblower protection is not effective enough in Lithuania - as insufficient attention is

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paid to ensuring personal confidentiality and introducing a culture of openness in organizations
(Transparency International Lithuania, 2023).

In the indicator Journalistic Profession, Standards, and Protection, there was a marginal increase of risk
– from 24% to 29%. The results of a representative survey of Lithuanian journalists conducted in 2023
(Jastramskis, 2024b) showed that the freedom of journalists to choose topics and to develop them is
negatively correlated with the influence of editors, managers, and owners, which is most noticeable in
regional (local) media organizations. Four fifths of Lithuanian journalists have basic social guarantees,
because they have signed employment contracts with their employers. One-fifth of journalists working under
author contracts or individual activity certificates are more socially vulnerable, even though they earn more
on average than their contractualised counterparts. The average earnings of Lithuanian journalists are
slightly higher than the national average, but journalists from regional and local media organizations earn
significantly less on average than those working in the national media (Plepytė-Davidavičienė, 2024).
Physical attacks against Lithuanian journalists are quite rare, but psychological threats related to the
profession are relatively common. Male journalists face different threats more often than female journalists,
and journalists working in regional or local media experience more various forms of insecurity compared to
those working in national media (Jastramskis, Plepytė-Davidavičienė & Gečienė-Janulionė, 2023). It should
also be noted that the protection of journalists would be strengthened by the development of anti-SLAPP
legislation.

The indicator Independence and Effectiveness of the Media Authority remained in the same point with
minimal risk of 8%. Lithuania has two regulatory bodies: the Office of the Journalism Ethics Inspector and
the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania. 5 out of 11 members of the Commission are appointed
by politicians and the chairman and deputy chairman of the Commission are appointed by the Parliament.
The Ethics Inspector is appointed by the Parliament, but the candidates themselves are proposed by media
associations. On the other hand, the Commission and the Inspector have not been involved in any recent
political controversies. The law attributes sanctioning powers to the media authorities. The effectiveness of
such sanctions is uneven. Particularly in relation to foreign (particularly Russian) propaganda, there seemed
to be little or no effect in terms of (re)offending up until such broadcasts were suspended indefinitely
following Russia’s war against Ukraine. Media authorities’ sanctions are not always respected by global
companies. According to the Commission, Alphabet (Google, Youtube) fulfils their requests, but
the
Inspector points out many cases where Meta does not
respond to requests to remove identified
disinformation and incitement of war propaganda on Facebook accounts.

After a successful performance in 2022 (21%), the Indicator of Universal reach of traditional media and
access to the Internet in 2023 is back where it was in 2021, which is in the medium risk area (58%). This is
more related to the measurement method than changes in Lithuania. Because in 2023, broadband
coverage, internet access, and internet speed increased. However, when measured relatively within the
group of countries, the increase was relatively slow.

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  Focus on the digital environment

Online Fundamental Protection (38%). Freedom of expression online is clearly defined in law in
accordance with international human rights standards and the restrictions to freedom of expression
online are proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued. For freedom of expression online, all the same
norms apply, as in the conventional media environment. As mentioned, members of civil society have
complaints about the transparency standards of information filtering/removing on global platforms
(mainly because of the most popular network in Lithuania, Facebook) and especially in the context of
the Lithuanian government met with
the chancellor of
Russia's war
representatives of Meta and discussed the features of content moderation on the Facebook network.
Meta representatives have agreed to consult on some keywords regarding their inclusion on the
the issue of contentious content and account blocking on
blocklist (Lrytas.lt, 2023). However,
Facebook still remains relevant.

in Ukraine.

In 2023,

Moreover, some Lithuanian journalists often experienced threats related to their online safety:
demeaning or hateful speech (13%), public discrediting of work (9%), hacking or blocking of social
media accounts/websites (0,7%) (Jastramskis et al., 2023).

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3.2. Market Plurality (70% - high risk)

The Market Plurality area considers the economic dimension of media pluralism, assessing the risks
deriving from insufficient transparency in media ownership, the concentration of the market in terms of both
production and distribution, the sustainability of media content production, and the influence of commercial
interests and ownership on editorial content. The actors included in the assessment are media content
providers, with indicators including Transparency of media ownership, Plurality of media providers, Media
viability, Editorial independence from commercial and ownership influence, and digital intermediaries (with
the indicator on Plurality in digital markets).

The Market Plurality area contrasts with the other areas, as it is the only one that indicates high risk (70%)
and does not show any significant changes compared to MPM2023 (69%). The magnitude of this risk is
mainly determined by the high concentration of media markets, the dominance of global corporations in the
local Internet advertising market, the pressure of commercial interests of private media on news services
and the low subsidization of private media from the state budget.

The Transparency of media ownership indicator has not changed compared to the previous assessment
and is at the low risk level (25%). The national law contains specific provisions requiring the disclosure of
ownership details in the news media sector: names and surnames of shareholders, the percentage of the
portion of the assets or the number of shares and the percentage of votes held or managed by the right of
ownership (Republic of Lithuania Law on the Provision of Information to the Public, 2024). In media
ownership declaration practices, most information is usually available on the owners of the first level of the
ownership structure. However, the ultimate beneficiaries, natural persons, often remain undisclosed in the
media registry system VIRSIS (2024).

The risk level of Plurality of media providers remains very high (96%) as it was previous year (97%).
There are no special legal acts in Lithuania that would restrict the ownership concentration of the media
organizations or the shares of the market that they occupy. Media concentration regulation follows general
rules listed in the Law on Competition (2024). This leads to a high horizontal concentration of media
markets. The risk assessment is based on the concentration indicators of the television and radio markets.
Top4 revenue concentration in TV and radio markets was 100% and 93%, respectively. The audience
concentration of TV and radio Top4 was somewhat lower - 65 and 85%, respectively (KANTAR, 2023;

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Jastramskis, Plepytė-Davidavičienė, 2021).

The Plurality in digital markets indicator shows increased risk from 82 to 94%. The risk is increased by
the fact that the global corporations Meta and Google dominate the Lithuanian Internet advertising market,
but Lithuania does not
intend to introduce any digital services tax intended specifically for global
corporations. Lithuania has also not yet adopted EU directive on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation
for multinational enterprise groups. There are also no financial agreements between digital intermediaries
and local news media producers, to remunerate the publishers for the use of copyright-protected content, or
more generally to contribute to their financing.

The value of the Media viability risk indicator decreased from 61% (2022) to 52% (2023). This was
influenced by more significant advertising revenue growth in the TV (16%) and digital native news media
(15,6%) markets in the first semester of 2023 and increased PSM subsidies by 14%. National media
companies have also been increasing digital subscription revenues (Delfi.lt, 2024; Balčiūnienė, 2024).
However, local media digital subscription initiatives are relatively limited, and the old paper newspaper
business model still dominates. Subsidies for private media, administered by the Press, Radio, and
Television Support Foundation until 2024, did not increase in 2023 and remained at a relatively modest level
of 3.2 million euros (Vz.lt, 2023).

In the indicator Editorial independence from commercial and owner influence, there was a marginal
increase of risk – from 78% to 82%. The Code of Ethics for Public Information (2016) requires that
advertising (including political advertising) be clearly distinguished from the work of journalists in the media,
however, in practice this often does not work due to pressure from owners and managers on journalists.
The results of a representative survey of Lithuanian journalists conducted in 2023 show that more than half
(54%) of Lithuanian journalists say that their journalistic work, when they create media content, is influenced
by advertising decisions made in their organizations (Jastramskis, 2024a). Journalists of PSM, which
basically do not work in the advertising market, are freed from commercial
influences. Some owners of
media organizations also run other types of businesses (e.g. MG group, Achema group), which may create
additional risks of bias for journalists working in those groups.

  Focus on the digital environment

Online Market Plurality (62%). Legal requirements are the same for digital media as for legacy
media regarding disclosure of ownership details. The digital news media is not an exception regarding
the effectiveness of ownership disclosure: the ultimate beneficiaries, natural persons, often remain
undisclosed in the media registry system VIRSIS (2024). There is no specific media concentration
regulation in Lithuania. The high degree of concentration in the digital advertising market cannot be
prevented without specific competition rules regarding this media sector. The digital native media
advertising market increased by 15,6% in the first semester of 2023. The upward trend of advertising
market in the digital native media sector is observed in 2019-2023. National media companies have
also increased digital subscription revenues, but
local media digital subscription initiatives are
relatively limited, and the old paper newspaper business model still dominates. Besides, the very
limited direct subsidies do little to support Lithuanian online media, which find it difficult to compete in
the advertising market with global players (Facebook, Google, Youtube, etc.).

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3.3. Political Independence (32% - low risk)

The Political
Independence indicators assess the existence and effectiveness of regulatory and self-
regulatory safeguards against political bias and political influences over news production, distribution and
access. More specifically, the area seeks to evaluate the influence of the State and, more generally, of
political power over the functioning of the media market and the independence of the public service media.
Furthermore, the area is concerned with the existence and effectiveness of (self)regulation in ensuring
editorial independence and the availability of plural political information and viewpoints, in particular during
electoral periods.

The Political Independence area score slightly decreased from 35% to 32% compared to the MPM2023.
This was mostly determined by the survey data of Lithuanian journalists, which indicated that high-intensity
factors that have a direct political influence on journalists’ autonomy are characteristic of a relatively small
part of the media system.

The indicator Political independence of media shows the medium level of risk and stands in the same
point (52%) as it was last year. Although there are formal restrictions regarding the transfer of media assets
by governmental bodies, municipalities, and political entities, politicians, similar to any other individuals, can
still obtain and oversee media outlets either directly or through their association with legal entities. Certain
Lithuanian political parties exert influence on local media content through their members or individuals
associated with them in the ownership structures or management positions of media companies across
various Lithuanian municipalities (Transparency International Lithuania, 2022). Major private national media
organizations do not possess direct ties to political influence, but similar to private local media outlets, they
operate within a landscape fraught with commercial-political risks, where public contracts and other financial
streams originating from political sources could potentially compromise the media’s autonomy from political
forces.

The risk in the Editorial autonomy area decreased from 75% to 63% compared to last year’s assessment.
This was determined by the data of a representative survey of Lithuanian journalists (Jastramskis, 2024a),
which showed that less than a tenth of journalists experience high-intensity political influence in their work,
and this allowed the risk related to the autonomy of the news media from political factors to be generally

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assessed as medium (some cases of influence), but not high (systemic cases of influence). On the other
hand, political influence can be indirect and conveyed through organizational-editorial decisions. In addition,
Republic of Lithuania Law on the Provision of Information to the Public (2024) does not provide regulatory
safeguards to guarantee autonomy when appointing and dismissing editors-in-chief. In this way, self-
regulatory measures cannot be effective in certain cases if
there is no favourable organizational
environment for them.

The indicator on Audio-visual media, online platforms and elections scored a low risk (16%) down by
one percentage point compared to last year (17%). The PSM, conventional private audio-visual media, and
content on online platforms all play a role in fostering diversity in political coverage. As outlined in the
Republic of Lithuania Law on the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (2023), the PSM ensures fair
time allocation to political candidates during electoral campaigns, adhering to the principle of equality. Since
2021, political advertising has been banned on PSM channels by law. Additionally, most private media
entities offer equitable opportunities to all political
factions during election periods, aiming to present
audiences with a spectrum of political perspectives. However, representing of different political actors on
private channels is not always fair. The lack of transparency of the media during political election campaigns
is revealed by cases where content published as journalistic is recognized as advertising (Vyriausioji rinkimų
komisija, 2023).

The State regulation of resources and support to the media sector indicator showed a low risk (25%),
almost the same as in the MPM2023 (27%). The main challenge remains due to the distribution of state
advertising, which is not always fair and transparent. Unclear schemes for the distribution of state publicity
money through communication agencies to the media outlets create conditions for corruption. In 2023, it
became clear that some members of the Lithuanian parliament purchased media sponsorship services in a
non-transparent manner, using state funds for parliamentary activities (Tvaskienė, 2023). State subsidies,
both direct and indirect, are allocated to media outlets in a fair and transparent manner. In Lithuania until
2024, direct subsidies for media organizations were overseen by the Press, Radio, and Television Support
influence through its stakeholder structure. An
Foundation, ensuring independence from governmental
important indirect subsidy is the exemption from VAT for the sale of printed and electronic media content.

The indicator measuring the Independence of public service media has maintained the same score,
indicating the lowest risk (3%) within the Political Independence category. Since 2015, funding for LRT has
been linked to state and municipal budgets’ revenues, specifically through a fixed percentage of income tax
and excise revenues. This funding mechanism has facilitated LRT’s financial autonomy from the
government and parliament, allowing for increased funding and more effective fulfillment of obligations
outlined in the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (2023). The
Constitutional Court of Lithuania affirmed in 2020 that the financing model of LRT ensures independence
from political authorities. Furthermore, the governance independence of PSM is formally safeguarded by the
formation process of the PSM council. The LRT Council comprises 4 delegates appointed by the President,
4 representatives from the Parliament (2 from the ruling coalition and 2 from the opposition), and 4
representatives from non-governmental organizations. Importantly, the terms of office for LRT Council
members do not coincide with the work cycles of political institutions.

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  Focus on the digital environment

Online Political Independence (30%). Main national digital media groups do not have direct links to
political control; however, some local websites may be indirectly controlled by politicians or their
family members. Internet news media are subject to the same requirements of the main media law as
other media types; thus, ethical norms of journalistic professionalism and political advertising must be
applied to digital content. There is no specific regulation for online political advertising during electoral
campaigns. Internet media and online platforms are subjects to the same requirements (as other
types of media) that aims to ensure equal opportunities and transparency of political advertising
(Elections Code of the Republic of Lithuania, 2023). Every participant in the election campaign must
declare to the Central Election Commission all accounts in online platforms (social networks) through
which he intends to spread paid political advertising, and the persons who are authorized to
administer and pay for the distribution of paid advertising in these accounts. All advertising monitoring
results in all media (national, regional, local, online platforms, social networks) are publicly available
on the Central Election Commission website. The PSM website does not participate in the advertising
market since July 2019 and do not publish political advertising as well.

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3.4. Social Inclusiveness (34% - medium risk)

The Social Inclusiveness area focuses on the access to media by specific groups in society: minorities, local
and regional communities, women and people with disabilities. It also examines the country’s media literacy
environment, including the digital skills of the overall population. Finally, it also includes new challenges
arising from the uses of digital technologies, which are linked to the Protection against disinformation and
hate speech.

In the current year,

In 2023, the situation in the Social Inclusiveness area slightly improved, changing from 36% (in 2022) to
33%, which is in the low-risk band. Over the years, progress has been gradual yet consistent (the result was
risk are the
43% in 2021).
Representation of minorities in media (29% in 2023 and 46% in 2022) and Media literacy (33% in 2023
and 60% in 2022). Simultaneously, it is important to highlight that despite outlined considerations and
implemented efforts, in the areas of Gender equality (42% in 2023 and 28% in 2022) and Protection
against disinformation and hate speech (23% in 2023 and 8% in 2022) exhibit heightened risk results.
The indicator of Local/regional and community media (38% both in 2023 and 2022) reveals an
unchanged situation.

the primary factors leading to a reduced overall

for linguistic communities; predominantly,

In 2023, the situation is notably improved in the area of Representation of minorities in the media. This
indicator highlights a positive shift with a vivid change from 46% (2022) to 29% (2023) of risk. The reduction
is largely attributed to obvious efforts by news media organizations to diversify content to ethnic and
linguistic groups and to enhance overall content quality. Both commercial media and PSM channels
generate content
the news portals deliver news in these
languages, namely the Delfi.lt (the largest Internet news portal) and Lrt.lt (the PSM online news portal). In
addition to news delivered on Lrt.lt in Polish and Russian, the news is also delivered in Ukrainian to reach
the migrant communities, whereas Delfi.lt emphasizes and invests in fact-checking to ensure news is
checked for accuracy, a service that is extended to the Russian language as well. The LRT, the national
public service broadcaster, has developed its strategic guidelines on diversity and inclusion, which address
accessibility to content and the rights to information of ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and
regional communities. Although many attempts have been made to provide certain news content for ethnic
and minority groups, much more strategically focused and collaborative efforts between different forms of

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media (commercial and PSM) would be required to properly identify and address the diverse information
and education needs of the ethnic minorities in Lithuania.

The consistent risk level of Local/regional and community media (38% both in 2023 and 2022) mirrors
constrained resources, stemming from legal, political, economic, and human factors. There is no legal
definition of community media, which limits its operational scope. Facing economic challenges,
local/regional media is often pressured by local politicians, which is not a massive but a publicly known
phenomenon in the country. The professional side of regional media also suffers as small newsrooms are
capable of employing only a few journalists, and very seldom do these represent the younger professionals.
Only in 2024 did funding opportunities become available for regional and community media outlets, along
with the media serving minority groups, to be funded through the re-organized Media Support Foundation.
As a co-regulatory institution, this Foundation will support media outlets and journalists on a project basis; it
will also grant stipends, perform research, and perform other functions to implement policy on providing
information to the public. Despite efforts to ensure financial stability through state funding and project-based
possibilities, regional media face challenges to their viability and autonomy with longer-term solutions.

Gender equality in the media now indicates a greater risk than in previous years. In practical terms, this
outcome is attributable to calculations for this indicator and is based on the limited availability of
systematically collected data regarding the representation of women in the news. Lithuania is among the
countries with a high representation of women in top media management positions. Still, access to current
official
records on women's representations in management boards and confirming the data with
commercial media appears to be a problem. Conversely, the LRT (public service broadcaster) has an
operating strategy for gender equality in programs, which is well noted. The Global Gender Gap Report
2023, published by the World Economic Forum, benchmarks Lithuania at position 9 (it was position 11 in
2022), which also illustrates positive changes in assuring gender balance.

This year, Media literacy shows significant improvement (33% in 2023 and 60% in 2022) due to the gradual
and strategic measures implemented in the past years. These initiatives cover strategic and practical moves
in several sectors, such as the organization of media literacy competencies in education, focused media
literacy training with library networks on national and regional
levels, and partnerships with public
information providers. As of 2023, the content of all general programs in education is organized according to
competencies training. Concrete media literacy-related issues in education and practical skills applications
can be found within the description of a number of competencies, such as communication, creativity, and
digital and social competencies. According to Eurostat 2023, 87% of Lithuanian citizens have basic or
above basic digital skills. In general, the overall atmosphere in Lithuania is very supportive of greater
inclusion of media literacy-related topics (digital skills, digital safety, civic resilience-related issues): media
education significance is often stressed on a political level; there are discussions and debates in public, and
private media, youth leaders are actively engaged in digital media literacy-related practices, universities and
news media organize trainings to vulnerable groups (ethnic communities, migrants, young media users,
seniors, minority groups, women). On the other hand, there are incomparably more groups that media
literacy programs should reach. With the intensification of disinformation attacks, it is especially important to
reach such groups and representatives of different professions, especially those highly engaged in
communication with the public: teachers, librarians, museum workers, medical personnel, public sector
employees, and others.

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The risk level of Protection against disinformation and hate speech indicator exhibits a heightened
risk of 23% in 2023 and 8% in 2022. Even though effective measures have been taken to fight
disinformation by the national authorities, which confirms heightened levels of risk awareness on an
institutional level, such as the availability of centralized systems of crisis management, including information-
related risks, it is still necessary to continuously invest and improve in the preparedness of the general
In 2023, the National Crisis Management Centre (NCCC,
public and societal resilience development.
Nacionalinis krizių valdymo centras) was established to coordinate national authorities' activities in
information threat prevention and counteraction. In 2024, in the framework of Crisis Management and Civil

[1]

, the NCCC aims to consolidate and develop a unified model for monitoring and analyzing
Protection Law
information incidents based on a unified data format methodology and advanced technological solutions,
which are being developed in the integrated information system "State data management" (Valstybės

duomenų valdysena)

[2]

.

Hate crimes and hate speech cases can be easily reported, as there are quite a few online platforms
created by public institutions and NGOs where people who have been victims or witnesses of hate
crime/hate incitement can easily report it to NGOs or the police and get help. Public opinion polls also show
a growing concern about the issue among state institutions, NGOs, and the public sector, as well as society
at large. The core institutions offering data resources and expert support in relation to fighting hate speech
are the Inspector of Journalists' Ethics (Žurnalistų etikos inspectorial tarnyba, ŽEIT), and The Center of
Human Rights (Lietuvos žmogaus teisių centras). In the context of potential online misconduct, including
threats, communication is monitored by the Virtual policemen (Virtualus policijos patrulis). These are core
institutions to whom to report hate speech incidents. The staff of these institutions is highly competent and
active in mobilizing news media attention to raise awareness of different initiatives. However, there is a lack
of structured presentation of all relevant information and public visibility of actions performed. Information for
the public is available on the website Nepyka.lt (www.nepyka.lt), which the institution of Inspector of Equal
Rights administers. 

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  Focus on the digital environment

that measure
The main
literacy and Protection against disinformation and hate speech.

indicators

digital

risks

in Social

Inclusiveness

are Media

If regulatory
Lithuania shows a high level of awareness regarding information-related threats.
decisions are enforced,
fighting
propaganda. The recent audience analysis (2024) identified social networks as channels where

they are publicly discussed. Lithuania has a lengthy history of

people (63% of survey respondents) most frequently spot disinformation

.

[3]

Lithuania's high-risk awareness of disinformation has led to focused policy-making and inter-
institutional cooperation on the governmental level. News media also invests high professionalism in
fact-checking and media literacy training for regional audience groups. To fight disinformation,
journalists from commercial media and PSM channels engage in international training projects and
research cooperation initiatives. Wide networks of public actors, such as schools, libraries, youth
activists, and NGOs engaged in media education awareness actions. Though activities are massive,
materials and mentoring are required to reach the expected results. These networks are continuously
supervised by independent specialists, experts, and researchers (Debunk.org, CRI.lt, DIGIRES:
Digires.lt).

In 2023-2024, the new focus is on digitally vulnerable groups. If earlier, these were listed mainly
according to socio-demographic aspects, such as linguistic and ethnic communities, also very young
media users, and seniors, nowadays 'vulnerability' is defined more broadly, covering different means
and capacities, such as channels people use to access news, their views of professional journalism,
and media trust aspects. Hence, various forms of analysis are applied to identify these potentially
vulnerable audiences.
Initiatives to target vulnerable groups are brought with DIGIRES
(http://digires.lt) and BECID projects (http://becid.eu, BECID is a pan-Baltic digital media observatory
and initiative to combat information disorders). Specific media literacy training programs are prepared
for these groups to focus more on individual perceptions, cognitive biases in information processing,
and individual agentive features, such as intentionality to use (dis)information and self-efficacy
assessments.

In Lithuania, the main law regulating hate speech crimes is the Criminal Code of the Republic of
Lithuania, which provides for liability for such acts as incitement to hatred, incitement to violence, and
intimidation through mental abuse. However, the Criminal Code does not, in principle, address the
problem of hate speech, as in practice, criminal law for this type of crime is used only in extreme
cases. As to online hate speech regulation, there are no specific guidelines; in all cases, the
medium of dissemination is not indicated. 

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4. Conclusions

The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM2024) reveals a contrast between the high-risk area of Market Plurality
and other areas that show low risk. The high-risk situation in the field of Market Plurality is determined by
the dominance of a small number of organizations in media markets and editorial dependence on the
influence of owners and commercial interests.

Fundamental Protection
The legal environment for informing the public in Lithuania is favourable, but the right to know is not always
institutions look for obstacles to prevent
smoothly implemented in practice, when state and municipal
journalists from providing information. Ineffective protection of whistleblowers also contributes to insufficient
protection of right to information. Therefore, it is recommended:

It is necessary to create a more effective system of responsibility for state and municipal institutions so
that media representatives are provided with information important to citizens in a timely manner.

Enhancing the enforcement of whistleblower protection laws is crucial, especially for instances
involving high-profile or politically sensitive information. This encompasses the establishment of
measures that adhere to global standards and guidelines.

It is also recommended to develop anti-SLAPP legislation that would help protect journalists and other
active citizens serving in the public interest.

Market Plurality
The level of risk within the Market Plurality sector is primarily influenced by the significant concentration
within media markets, the dominance of multinational corporations in the local Internet advertising sector,
interests from private media on news content, and the limited state budget
the influence of commercial
subsidization for private media outlets. Such a situation is facilitated by the increased subsidies for the PMS
in recent years, which partially maintains the sustainability of
the media system and provide more
opportunities for private producers to participate in creating higher quality content for PSM viewers. It is
recommended:

The enhancement of the media system’s viability should involve bolstering direct subsidies to private
media entities while ensuring their independence remains uncompromised.

Regulations and tailored measures for the media sector need to be formulated to prevent
concentration of media ownership.

the

Political Independence
Media independence from politics is a constant challenge in Lithuanian municipalities. Major private national
media organizations may not have direct affiliations with political influence, yet akin to private local media
establishments, they navigate a landscape rife with commercial-political risks. Public contracts and other
financial flows originating from political channels could potentially jeopardize the media’s autonomy from
political influences. The primary issue persists with the allocation of state advertising, which lacks fairness
and transparency. Ambiguous frameworks for distributing state advertising to media entities foster

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conditions conducive to biased media content.

There must be clear and transparent rules for the allocation of public advertising, considering the
provisions of the European Media Freedom Act.

It is recommended that journalist associations establish measures to uphold editorial freedom. One
method to achieve this is through the formation of editorial councils within media entities. These
councils play a crucial role in facilitating consensus among owners, top management, and editors to
safeguard editorial independence.

Social Inclusiveness
In the Social Inclusiveness area, a shift focusing on competencies-based education, where digital media
literacy capacities training forms a horizontal strategy, reveals an evident decrease in overall Media Literacy
risk assessments (33% of risk). Still, despite the gradual and proactive steps in the educational field,
growing expertise in fact-checking by media groups, and the lively scene of various NGO activities in
providing information verification services,
the absence of a whole-of-society approach of expertise
exchanges between different stakeholder groups prevents obtaining a coordinated program with long-term
effects in the development of societal resilience.

We recommend cooperative actions on the ministerial
level (between the Ministry of Culture, the
Ministry of Education, Science, and Sports, the Ministry of Economics and Innovations, and others) to
foresee long-term financing mechanisms to uphold and sustain the currently high standards of multi-
stakeholder engagement in digital media awareness (skills, capacities, analytics) expertise and best-
practice exchanges. 

The Media Support Foundation has passed several critical
rounds of negotiations among different
stakeholder groups, which has led to radical restructuring to ensure transparency in decision-making and
funding accessibility to various media types. Still, strengthening community and minority media remains an
ongoing concern. Lithuania does not have legally recognized minority groups, and PSM and commercial
media aim at the most significant ethnic minorities.

Starting in March 2024, the Media Support Foundation will launch programs to support minority media.
Additionally, we recommend implementing legislative actions that clearly define different media types,
such as minority, community, and regional press.

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5. Notes

[1]

[2]

[3]

  Lietuvos Respublikos Krizių Valdymo ir Civilinės Saugos Įstatymas (https://e-
seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.69957/asr).  
  Vlastybės duomenų valdysena (https://duomenys.stat.gov.lt/nacionalinis-kriziu-valdymo-centras/).  

  Dauguma Lietuvos gyventojų mano, kad socialinių tinklų valdytojai netinkamai reaguoja į
dezinformaciją
(https://www.delfi.lt/login/progresas/kibernetinis-saugumas/dauguma-lietuvos-gyventoju-mano-kad-
socialiniu-tinklu-valdytojai-netinkamai-reaguoja-i-dezinformacija-95559939). 

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apskaita/2024/01/30/lietuvos-ekonomika-2023-m-smuko-03

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ANNEXE I. COUNTRY TEAM

First name

Last name

Position

Institution

MPM2024 CT
Leader

Deimantas

Jastramskis

Leader

Vilnius University

X

Aukse

Balcytiene

Project partner

Vytautas Magnus
University

ANNEXE II. GROUP OF EXPERTS

The Group of Experts is composed of specialists with a substantial knowledge and experience in the field of
media. The role of the Group of Experts was to review especially sensitive/subjective evaluations drafted by
the Country Team in order to maximize the objectivity of the replies given, ensuring the accuracy of the final
results.

First name

Last name

Position

Institution

Deividas

Velkas

Representative of media regulator

Irmina

Matonytė

Professor, media/politics analyst

Audronė

Nugaraitė

Representative of journalists'
association

Ministry of Culture, Republic of
Lithuania

General Jonas Žemaitis Military
Academy of Lithuania

Lithuanian Journalists Union

Viktor

Vytis

Denisenko

Associate professor

Vilnius University

Jurkonis

Project director, representative of non-
government organization

Freedom House

Gintaras

Sarafinas

Member

Public Information Ethics
Association

Liudvikas

Gadeikis

Member

Lithuanian Writers' Union

Research Project Report

Issue -

June 2024

doi:10.2870/228008

ISBN:978-92-9466-574-4

QM-09-24-471-EN-N

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