DW Director-General at partner stations in the Baltic
May 15, 2015
Limbourg signed on Thursday and Friday, 14 and 15 May, corresponding agreements (Memorandum of Understanding) at partners of the German international broadcaster in Riga (Latvia), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Tallinn (Estonia). The planned greater cooperation encompasses programme adoptions and co-productions, as well as advice and training offers by the DW Akademie.
Limbourg: “That DW can intensify its cooperation with the state television stations in the Baltic countries is an important signal at the right time. With our programme deliveries in the Russian language we contribute to the people in these three states being better able to classify the information of Russian media. There is also a wish here for training of journalists by the DW Akademie. We are happy to oblige.“
TV offers for the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic countries are to be expanded. In Latvia, for example, 40 per cent of the people speak Russian and regularly draw news from Russian sources. Deutsche Welle makes available to the Baltic partners, among other things, its Russian-language TV news magazine ‘Geofaktor aktuell’. In addition, the DW Magazine offers items on culture, the environment and health – each in a Russian adaptation. Furthermore, documentaries and features from the wide offer of DW Transtel are part of the agreements.
Ivars Belte, Chairman of the Board of Latvian Television (LTV), underlined at the meeting with Peter Limbourg in Riga the importance of the “support by partner stations in other European countries who share our perspectives and values.” That’s what the cooperation with Deutsche Welle stands for. Belte: “At the time, when processes that we call information warfare have started in the information space of some countries, we feel particularly satisfied that free, high quality and professional journalism is gaining a decisive role.”
In Vilnius, Limbourg met leading representatives of the national radio station LRT, and in Tallinn with the management of the public radio and TV station ERR.
The directors of the partner stations in the Baltic states will for their part be guests of Deutsche Welle from 22 to 24 June at the Global Media Forum in Bonn. During their visit they will at a joint Press briefing make statements about, among other things, current developments in international media – especially with a view to Russia.
15 May 2015
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