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Mixed professional values in a small and highly blurred media environment
Last modified: 2011-02-27
Abstract
The trend towards media commercialization is reported in many countries around the world. Yet, in Lithuania this process has its country-specific character.
The mainstream media’s performance in Lithuania in meeting democratic performance requests is questionable according to all criteria of the Media Democracy Monitor. As monitoring data shows, in many ways, news and information is available and easily accessible to citizens; yet, as audience in Lithuania is segmented, media use across different audience groups is diverging along socio-economic and socio-cultural lines. Thus goals and functions different mainstream media aim at are also susceptible to these two important indicators (economic status and cultural needs). In certain cases, however, different requirements and professional procedures seem to be in place. For instance, a few of the mainstream media either already have or acknowledge that having publicly accessible editorial policies is an important part of newsroom management. Also, media is affordable and open to public inputs. Yet, seeking to maintain its share in the market mass media becomes an active player by searching for additional funding possibilities and by looking for new ways to meet demands of fierce competition. With media crisis this situation has even worsened. Regularly performed and independently funded media monitoring is absolutely necessary to disclose the scale and scope of hidden advertising in mainstream media. The watchdog function is also problematic. Although acknowledging necessity of this function, mass media do not consider it primarily important. In addition, with budget cuts, mainstream media has no financial and no human resources to support investigative journalism.
To conclude, media performance monitoring study discloses that, generally, media field in Lithuania is very polarized, and each media sector operates under its own logic: mainstream media operates under the logic of commercialism, whereas alternative and niche media aim at fulfilling the needs and expectations of underrepresented (niche) audience groups.
The mainstream media’s performance in Lithuania in meeting democratic performance requests is questionable according to all criteria of the Media Democracy Monitor. As monitoring data shows, in many ways, news and information is available and easily accessible to citizens; yet, as audience in Lithuania is segmented, media use across different audience groups is diverging along socio-economic and socio-cultural lines. Thus goals and functions different mainstream media aim at are also susceptible to these two important indicators (economic status and cultural needs). In certain cases, however, different requirements and professional procedures seem to be in place. For instance, a few of the mainstream media either already have or acknowledge that having publicly accessible editorial policies is an important part of newsroom management. Also, media is affordable and open to public inputs. Yet, seeking to maintain its share in the market mass media becomes an active player by searching for additional funding possibilities and by looking for new ways to meet demands of fierce competition. With media crisis this situation has even worsened. Regularly performed and independently funded media monitoring is absolutely necessary to disclose the scale and scope of hidden advertising in mainstream media. The watchdog function is also problematic. Although acknowledging necessity of this function, mass media do not consider it primarily important. In addition, with budget cuts, mainstream media has no financial and no human resources to support investigative journalism.
To conclude, media performance monitoring study discloses that, generally, media field in Lithuania is very polarized, and each media sector operates under its own logic: mainstream media operates under the logic of commercialism, whereas alternative and niche media aim at fulfilling the needs and expectations of underrepresented (niche) audience groups.