Ba lt ic M e dia En v ir on m e n t s: I n t e gr a t e d or D iv ide d?
Ka spa r s Ru k lis
Vidzem e Univer sit y
Let ónia
Re su m o
Est e ar t igo cent r a- se no papel que os am bient es dos m édia desem penham nos est ados bált icos e o m odo com o pr om ovem quer a int egr ação e a inclusão ou a divisão na sociedade, aj udando ou m it igando a int egr ação social e o desenv olvim ent o em ger al. A quest ão no caso dos est ados bált icos é se os m edia facilit am um debat e sobr e est es assunt os. A análise indicia que est e assunt o é pr em ent e à m edida que est es t rês países, Est ónia, Let ónia e Lit uânia, progr idem nas ár eas da dem ocr acia e da econom ia de m er cado.
Pa la vr a s- ch a ve :
Est ados bált icos; Media; I nt egr ação e inclusão social
Abst r a ct :
This paper focus on t he r ole of m edia env ir onm ent s m edia in t he Balt ic st at es and how t hey eit her pr om ot e int egr at ion and inclusion, or pr om ot e div ision in societ y , t hus helping or hinder ing social int egr at ion and dev elopm ent in gener al. The quest ion for t he Balt ics is—can m edia help facilit at e a healt hy debat e on t hese issues? The analysis show s t hat t his issue ur ges, as t hese t hr ee count r ies, Est onia, Lat via and Lit huania, cont inue t o m ake pr ogr ess in t he ar eas of dem ocr acy and m ar k et econom y.
Ke y - w or ds:
Balt ic st at es; Media; Media env ir onm ent s; Social int egr at ion and inclusion
The Balt ic st at es—Est onia, Lat via and Lit huania—m ight seem
t oo sm all and t w o far aw ay for a Por t uguese or Spanish speak er but
in r ealit y t hey ar e m uch closer t han it seem s at a fir st glance. All
t hr ee Balt ic st at es j oined t he Eur opean Union ( EU) and Nor t h At lant ic
Tr eat y Or ganizat ion ( NATO) in 2004 and now ar e full m em ber s of
bot h. Even t hough t hese count r ies ar e geogr aphically locat ed at t he
ot her end of t he EU, polit ically, econom ically as w ell as secur it y w ise
all t hr ee Balt ic st at es ar e par t ner s and allies t o Por t ugal and Spain,
and developm ent s in t he Balt ic st at es can also affect ot her m em ber s
of t he EU and NATO.
One of t he issues of gr eat int er est t o bot h of t hese int er nat ional
or ganizat ions befor e t he Balt ics w er e adm it t ed w as social int egr at ion.
The EU is et hnically ver y diver se t herefor e it w as im por t ant t o t he EU
m inor it ies. The Balt ics have m ade ver y good pr ogr ess in t he ar ea of
int egr at ing m inor it ies int o t he societ y , and t he m edia has had it s par t
in it . But one aspect st ill rem ains open—t he differ ences bet w een
m aj or it y m edia and m inor it y m edia ar e st ill obvious and oft en t hey
ar e divided not by ideas and beliefs, as it is desir ed in a dem ocr acy,
but by et hnic lines. As m inor it y m edia in t he Balt ics is ver y influent ial
and also plays a polit ical r ole, especially in Est onia and Lat via, t his is
a ver y ser ious issue. I t is im por t ant t hat all people get fair
infor m at ion but t her e ar e som e doubt s t hat som e of t he m inor it y
out let s in t he Balt ics ar e not pr oviding t his ser vice t o t heir r eader s.
This paper w ill focus on t he r ole of t he m edia in social
int egr at ion and som e polit ical pr ocesses in t he Balt ic st at es. I t w ill
exam ine m edia envir onm ent s and how t hey eit her pr om ot e
int egr at ion and inclusion, or pr om ot e division in societ y, t hus helping
or hinder ing social int egr at ion and developm ent in gener al. Even
t hough t he m ain issue in t his paper is t he et hnic and polit ical aspect s
of social int egr at ion, it w ill also t ouch upon t he issues of int egr at ion
of people of different race and different sexual orient at ion. I t is t he
next lar ge social issue t hat m edia faces not only in t he Balt ics but
also elsew her e in Eur ope. The quest ion for t he Balt ics is—can m edia
help facilit at e a healt hy debat e on t hese issues? And t he answ er is
sim ple—it has t o m ake sur e t hat t his issue get s fair t r eat m ent , as
t hese t hr ee count r ies cont inue t o m ake pr ogr ess in t he ar eas of
dem ocr acy and m ar ket econom y.
A Look a t Toda y fr om a H ist or ica l Pe r spe ct iv e
The hist or ic t w ist s and t ur ns have not alw ays been so fav orable
t o t he Balt ic st at es as t hey are t oday. Thr oughout 50 year s (
1940-1991) of Soviet occupat ion, t he Balt ic st at es w er e w iped off fr om t he
independence, t hey had t o st ar t everyt hing fr om a scr at ch. Not only
t he w hole pr ocess of dem ocr acy, fr ee m ar ket econom y and fr ee pr ess
had t o be r ebuilt but also people’s under st anding about v alues, w or k
et hic and social r esponsibilit y had t o be r evisit ed. The dam age t hat
w as done by t he Soviet em pir e t o t hese sm all fr eedom loving nat ions
w as enor m ous ( Sm it h, Pabr iks, Pur s and Lane, 2002: 24- 43) .
How ever , it w as not ir r epar able and, as t he lat est econom ic indicat or s
and also r esult s in ot her ar eas are show ing, t he Balt ic St at es ar e
m aking a gr eat progr ess. Only aft er 16 year s being independent ,
t hese count r ies ar e developing on t heir ow n w it hout guidance fr om
Moscow , as w as t he case dur ing t he Soviet t im es, or any ot her capit al
but w it h gener ous West er n suppor t and som e financial assist ance,
and aft er j oining t he Eur opean Union, also funds t hat Est onia, Lat via
and Lit huania ar e r eceiving for st r uct ural im pr ovem ent s.
Alt hough m uch has been done alr eady, t her e are sever al lar ge
challenges in t he Balt ics t hat r em ain t o be solved in t he fut ur e.
Despit e t he fact t hat t hese t hree count r ies ar e linguist ically and
cult ur ally som ew hat differ ent , m ain challenges ar e sim ilar t o all of
t hem . One of t hese challenges is t he issue of et hnic int egr at ion,
w hich in t he Balt ic cont ext is r efer r ed t o as social int egr at ion and
includes m or e t han j ust et hnic int egrat ion. I t also refers t o
int egr at ion of people of differ ent r ace, sexual or ient at ion as w ell as
var ious socially disadvant aged gr oups.
Accor ding t o polit ical obser ver s, in Lat via, t he st at e should
cont inue aggr essive int egr at ion pr ogr am m es t o br ing it s near ly
700,000 non- cit izens int o Lat vian cit izenship. “ The danger now is t hat
t he Russian- speaking com m unit y is indiffer ent , not ant agonist ic, t o
t he new st at e. Lat via needs t o involve all of it s r esident s in st at
e-building and t he fut ur e of t he count r y. I nvolving cit izens and
r esident s does not m ean com pr om ising et hnic sur vival or assim ilat ing
t heir ow n st at e,” not e Sm it h, Pabriks, Pur s and Lane ( 2002: 150) . I n
br oad t er m s, it is in ev er y one’s int er est t o accom plish t he pr ocess of
social int egr at ion, as it is im por t ant for fur t her developm ent of t he
count r y.
M e dia ’s Role in Re st or a t ion of I n de pe n de n ce
Media and com m unicat ion played a vit al r ole in r est or at ion of
independence in all t hr ee count r ies, as it is also not ed by various
aut hor s on t r ansit ion and dem ocrat izat ion of East er n Eur ope and
for m er Soviet Union. I n t hese m om ent ous event s, j our nalist s played
a leading r ole ( Mickiew icz, 1998: 33) . I n lat e 80s, w hen t he count ries
w er e st ill under t he Soviet r ule, new spaper s had m or e fr eedom t han
ever in t he ent ir e Soviet per iod and anyw her e in t he for m er Soviet
Union. Dur ing Gor bachev’s glasnost paper s in t he Balt ic count r ies
t ook t he w or d per say and used t he openness in t he r eal sense of it s
m eaning and st ar t ed speaking openly about t he painful hist or y.
Many believe t hat t he m edia w as t he sour ce of inspir at ion for
independence m ov em ent s in al t hr ee count r ies. The peaceful
r evolut ion in t he Balt ic St at es is also know n as “ t he singing
r evolut ion” , and no doubt , m any of t he songs w er e sung by t he
m edia. Media w as t her e w hen t he lar ge m anifest at ions gat her ed t o
speak out t o t he w or ld about t he unfair dest iny of t he Balt ics, nat ional
r adio and t elevision st at ions in Lat via and Lit huania w ere t he obj ect s
t hat w ere guar ded by people, w hen t he Sov iet for ces at t acked,
j our nalist s w er e t he ones t hat r epor t ed even dur ing t he hopeless
m om ent s of cr isis. I t w as by all m eans t he “ golden er a” of t he m edia
in t he Balt ics. “ The nam es “ popular ( people’s) r adio” and “ popular
( people’s) t elevision” appear ed as r adio and t elevision w er e t he only
sour ces of infor m at ion at t hat t im e. They w or ked ar ound t he clock,
people,” obser ve m edia scient ist s ( Br ikse, Duze and Sulm ane
1993: 238) . The t rust levels t o t he m edia st ill r em ain high t oday
( Laur ist in and Vihalem m , 2002: 44) and lar gely it is due t o t he r ole
t hey played dur ing lat e 80s ear ly 90s in t he independence
m ovem ent s.
The changes in t he m edia aft er independence have been
t r em endous. Dur ing t he Soviet years all paper s w er e ow ned by t he
com m unist par t y and such t hing as a fr ee pr ess did not exist , it w as
all ow ned by t he par t y ( Laur ist in and Vihalem m , 1993: 177- 186) .
New spaper s w er e cheap and easily available but t her e w as not m uch
in t hem t o read. Most art icles w er e about t he leader s of t he only
par t y as w ell as som e pr aise of som e w or ker s in som e fact or y or
far m . Oft en fr ont pages cont ained t r anscr ipt s of gover nm ent
docum ent s and decr ees. Aft er 1991, all t hat had t o be changed
because t he pr ess w as fr ee now . I t w as fr ee t o w r it e w hat it t hought
appr opr iat e. Also t he ow ner ship m at t er s had t o be t aken car e of.
Most new spaper s w er e pr ivat ized by j our nalist s and edit or s
t hem selves. I t w as easier w it h broadcast m edia—st at e channels
r em ained in t he hands of t he gover nm ent s but all pr ivat e m edia had
t o be est ablished from t he scr at ch, as no pr ivat e r adio or TV exist ed
dur ing t he Soviet syst em . Fir st year s r ight aft er independence w er e
ver y har d for t he m edia econom ically, as t he pr ices of paper s had t o
go up but people w er e not r eady t o pay t hem , because over all
econom ic condit ions w er e bad. They had t o invest in developm ent , in
paper , and in j our nalist s aft er all. The concept of West er n st yle
r epor t ing em er ged t oget her w it h free m ar ket condit ions. The exist ing
j our nalist ic t r adit ion w as ver y poor, so j our nalist s had t o lear n
t hem selves and also educat e t he new gener at ion of r epor t er s and
M e dia a s a n Age n t for Socia l I n t e gr a t ion
One of t he lar gest pr oblem s in t oday’s Balt ic r ealit y is social
int egr at ion and t his pr oblem is closely t ied t o t he m edia. “ The links
bet w een popular m ass m edia and social int egr at ion w er e easy t o
per ceive in t er m s bot h negat ive ( m or e cr im e and im m or alit y) and
individualist ic ( loneliness, loss of collect ive beliefs) , but it w as also
possible t o envisage a posit ive cont r ibut ion from m oder n
com m unicat ions t o cohesion and com m unit y,” w r it es Dennis McQuail
( 205: 52) in r egar d t o t he sit uat ion in t he Unit ed St at es w it h
int egr at ion of im m igr ant s. The sam e can be applied t o t he sit uat ion in
t he Balt ics aft er r egaining independence w hen lar ge m inor it y gr oups
of people suddenly r ealized t hat t hey do not live in t he Soviet Union
but in an independent count r y w it h differ ent cult ur e and language.
Local cult ur e and language w as t here dur ing t he Soviet t im es but
ideology and pow er at t hat t im e did not r espect it and even t r ied t o
get r id of it , pr om ot ing a unit ed Soviet ident it y and Russian as
unify ing language. Aft er polit ical changes, m edia w as t he agent w ho
chooses w het her t o have an opt im ist ic vision of t he fut ur e, or
pessim ist ic, and w het her it in it s cont ent pr om ot es int egr at ion and
solidar it y, fr eedom and diver sit y, or dom inance and unifor m it y and
nor m lessness and loss of ident it y ( McQuail, 2005: 90) .
Due t o t he uneasy hist or y of t hese count r ies, t her e is a lar ge
num ber of et hnic m inor it ies living in all t hr ee, especially in Est onia
and Lat v ia, lar gest of t hem being Russian m inor it y ( also m ost ot her
m inor it ies, for exam ple, Belor ussians, Uk r ainians and Jew ish use
Russian as t heir pr im ar y language) . Som e of t hem ar e hist or ic
m inor it ies but m any of t hem have m igr at ed t o t he Balt ics dur ing t he
Soviet per iod because of econom ic r easons. Am ong ot her issues t hat
t his sit uat ion r aises, t he m ost im por t ant one pr obably is t he issue of
successful social int egr at ion of m aj or it y and m inor it y gr oups and
pr om ot e unit ed under st anding of issues as w ell as full par t icipat ion in
var ious polit ical and econom ic pr ocesses. Media plays an essent ial
r ole in t his pr ocess.
People in each count r y speak pr edom inant ly t w o languages
( Est onian or Russian in Est onia and Lat vian or Russian in Lat via) ,
t her e is an issue of cr oss com m unicat ion bet w een t w o et hnic gr oups,
w hich does not help int egr at ion. Alt hough officially t her e is only one
official language in each count r y ( Est onian in Est onia and Lat vian in
Lat via) , not all et hnic m inor it y r epresent at ives speak it . Due t o
var ious r easons, r elat ively lar ge num ber s of m inor it y gr oups do not
speak t he official language and it cr eat es a com m unicat ions pr oblem ,
as people use var ious sources of get t ing infor m at ion, divided by
language lines. One of t he r easons in Lat via, for inst ance, is
unw illingness t o speak t he official language out of t he indiffer ence t o
t he Lat vian gover nm ent ( Sm it h, Pabr iks, Pur s and Lane, 2002: 150) .
And it can easily be ex plained also by look ing at t he m edia
envir onm ent s, w hich w e w ill do shor t ly.
Tw o M e dia En v ir on m e n t s
Tw o m aj or languages m ean t w o set s of new spaper s. I t can
cause headache t o adv er t ising and public r elat ions pr ofessionals but it
does m or e t han t hat . I t is not only language t hat separ at es t he t w o
language new spaper s. I t is also w hat ’s in t hem . Media exper t s in
Lat via have defined it as a pr oblem of t w o infor m at ion and
com m unicat ion spaces ( Ruklis 2001: 46) . People live in t w o par allel
env ir onm ent s. They m ight be liv ing in t he sam e apar t m ent building
but depending on t heir language t hey m ight be concer ned about
t ot ally differ ent issues. I f a Lat vian fam ily, for inst ance, w at ches new s
new s pr ogr am fr om Moscow on cable and get a t ot ally differ ent set of
new s, and w hich is ev en w or se, Moscow t elevision w ould oft en dist or t
new s about t he Balt ics in such w ay doing a disser vice for it s view er s
in t he Balt ics. I t is bot h t r ue in Est onia and Lat via, not t o such ext ent
in Lit huania. We w ill discuss t he sit uat ion in Lit huania lat er , but now
let ’s focus on Est onia and Lat via.
Unfor t unat ely t he Balt ic Russian- language m edia st ill t oday has
lar gely kept t he poor j our nalist ic t r adit ion and has not fully adopt ed
West er n r epor t ing st andar ds, like Est onian- , Lat vian- , and Lit
huanian-language m edia has. Most of t hem st r ict ly separ at e edit or ial cont ent
fr om opinion, new s fr om edit or ials, and use ver ifiable infor m at ion
select ion and r epor t ing cr it er ia. Russian- language m edia’s st yle,
how ever , is som et hing bet w een t he old Soviet j our nalism school w er e
only posit ive st or ies or highly crit ical st or ies about t he enem y w er e
r epor t ed and t he West er n t abloid yellow pr ess st yle. Vest i Sevodnya,
a Russian language new spaper in Lat via act ually looks like Ger m an
Bild w it h a sem i- naked lady, an anim al and huge, exagger at ed
pict ur e on t he fr ont page, except it posit ions it self as a qualit y
Russian- language daily. The under st anding about division bet w een
t abloid and qualit y paper seem s t o be unknow n t o t he edit or s of t his
new spaper , and also som e ot her Balt ic Russian- language paper s.
I f t his w ould be t he only m aj or issue w it h t he Russian
new spaper s in Est onia and Lat via, t he sit uat ion w ould not be so bad.
Minor it y m edia also t ends t o be highly cr it ical of t he gover nm ent s,
som et im es ev en being on t he bor der w it h being host ile t ow ar ds t hem .
Fr om t im e t o t im e t hese paper s also quest ion t he sover eignt y of
t hese count r ies and oft en dr aw t heir agendas fr om elect r onic and
pr int m edia in Russia. On som e day s r eading t hese paper s seem s t hat
t hey st and closer t o official Russia w it h Pr esident Vladim ir Put in in
char ge t han t hey do t o t heir ow n gov er nm ent s and pr esident s, t hus
Lat vian and Est onian m edia r espect ively. And it is not only about t he
quant it y of t heir new s r epor t s, it also count s t he view point s on
var ious issues. I t can be anyt hing r anging fr om dom est ic issues such
as sit uat ion of r et ir ed in t he Balt ics, Russian m inor it y r ight s t o w ar on
t er r or and global w ar m ing.
When j our nalist s ar e asked w hich new spaper s cont r ibut e m or e
t o social int egr at ion, Lat vian j our nalist s say t hat t he Russian m edia
doesn’t cont r ibut e t o social int egr at ion as m uch as t hey do and vice
ver sa. As a m at t er of fact , not a single Lat vian j our nalist t hat
par t icipat ed in t his r esear ch believed t hat Russian pr ess cont r ibut es
anyt hing t o t he pr ocess ( Ruklis, 2001: 74) . Each new spaper group
believes t hat it does t he best ser vice not only t o t heir r eader s but
also t o t he pr ocess of social int egr at ion as a w hole.
Tw o j our nalist ic com m unit ies shar e quit e differ ent polit ical
beliefs and at t it udes t ow ar ds econom ic, polit ical and social
developm ent of Lat vian societ y and differ ent at t it udes t o t heir
pr ofessional r oles. Media exper t s have accused t he pr ess, especially
som e Russian language edit ions of im peding int egr at ion pr ocesses.
( Sulm ane, 2001: 1) .
D iv idin g For ce —Br oa dca st s fr om M oscow ?
Br oadcast m edia m ight pr ovide som e answ er s t o t he issue of
such vast differ ences bet w een t he m aj or it y and m inor it y m edia
gr oups. Tr adit ionally in Est onia and Lat via Russian br oadcast t r adit ion
has been r elat ively w eak. Dur ing t he Soviet year s t elevision fr om
Moscow sat isfied all needs. I t had progr am m ing for all t ast es so t her e
w as no need t o produce pr ogr am s locally and besides it w ould cost a
lot of m oney and w ould be for a r elat ively sm all audience of Est onia’s,
Lat via’s or Lit huania’s Russian speaker s. Est onian, Lat vian and
br oadcast sour ce of infor m at ion in t hese languages besides r adio.
Aft er independence, unfor t unat ely Russian language t elevision in
Est onia and Lat via did not develop as w ell as t elevision pr ogr am m ing
in Russia and t her efor e m any of t hese view er s t ur ned t o TV st at ions
fr om Moscow t hat can be r eceived in t he Balt ics over t he cable for a
r elat ively sm all fee ( in t he fir st year s aft er independence it w as
possible t o r eceive it even over t he air ) . And Russian t elevision fr om
Moscow is pr obably t he single biggest obst acle t o m edia cont r ibut ion
t o social int egr at ion, or t he lack of it , t o be m or e pr ecise.
Accor ding t o t he agenda set t ing t heor y, Russian TV set s t he
agenda w hich t he Russian new spaper s in t he Balt ics have t o follow
because t heir r eader s also w at ch t elevision. Of cour se, edit or in Riga
or Tallinn can not decide t o ignor e t he new s ( and also t he slant of t he
new s st or ies) t hat get br oadcast on t he night ly new s pr ogr am t hat his
or her r eader w at ches t he night befor e r eading new spaper . And so
t he pr oblem begins. I f t he Russian gover nm ent is cr it ical of any
aspect of Lat via, t he Russian new spaper has t o do t he sam e despit e
t he fact t hat it has bet t er access t o infor m at ion t han his count er par t
in Moscow t elevision bur eau. The cr edibilit y t o t he new spaper m ight
be lost if t he new spaper doesn’t follow t he agenda. I n t he fr ee m ar ket
of new spaper s w her e t her e is com pet it ion, m aint aining cr edibilit y
am ong r eader s is ver y im por t ant , if not cr ucial.
I n t he age of int er net , t his pr oblem has becom e even m or e
com plicat ed, as Russians in t he Balt ics oft en use new s por t als
pr oduced in Russia t o get t heir daily new s. And new spaper s do t he
sam e, as t hey heavily use Russia’s w ir e ser vices for t heir new s. This
new m edia influences t he agenda set t ing pr ocess for
Russian-language Lat vian and Est onian new spaper s in a sim ilar w ay as
Ru ssia a n d Ba lt ic M e dia
Unfor t unat ely r elat ions bet w een t he Balt ic St at es and Russia
ar e not at it s gr eat est at t he m om ent . Ther e ar e m any issues t hat all
t hr ee Balt ic count r ies, but again, especially Est onia and Lat via, have
t r ouble agr eeing on. Am ong t hem ar e bor der t r eat y disput es,
econom ic issues, but m ost im por t ant ly per haps, t he Russian m inor it y
sit uat ion. Lit huania has been m or e successful in dealing w it h t his
sit uat ion, as m ost Russian speaker s in Lit huania hav e been gr ant ed
cit izenship and t hey have been int egr at ed int o t he societ y ver y
successfully, including m ost of t hem speak t he official Lit huanian
language. Things ar e not so w ell in Est onia and Lat via, w her e t he
Russian m inor it y is lar ger in num bers and also polit ically not so loyal
t o t he count r ies. Per haps Lat via and Est onia could have t aken lessons
fr om Lit huania on t his, alt hough t he sit uat ions differ —Russian
m inor it y in Lit huania is m uch sm aller t han in Est onia and especially in
Lat via. Wit hout divulging int o polit ical nuances, w e w ill j ust leave it at
discussing t he significance of successful social int egr at ion.
Russia has been ver y cr it ical of Est onia and Lat via for t heir
t r eat m ent of Russian diaspor as in t hese count r ies. Russia believes
t hat t heir com pat r iot s have been m ist r eat ed by t hese gov er nm ent s
and t herefor e it cont inues t o cr it icize t hese sm all count r ies in all
possible w ays, fr om all int er nat ional t ribunes. Fair ly or not , it r em ains
for hist or y t o answ er but fr om t he com m unicat ions st andpoint a
not iceable dam age is done t o t he social int egr at ion in t hese count r ies,
as Russia uses ever y oppor t unit y t o br ing t hese issues back on
agenda in t heir m edia. As a r esult , in Russia, accor ding t o pooling
dat a, 49 per cent of Russians consider Lat via is enem y num ber one
( Gut e, 2007: 1) , and r eplaces t he Unit ed St at es, w hich occupied t hat
posit ion dur ing t he Cold War and sever al year s aft er it had ended. I t
of t hr eat t o lar ge Russia, but it pr ov es how m edia by const ant
r epet it ion of t he sam e m essage—be it t r ue or not —can achieve
ver ifiable r esult s. I n t his case t hese r esult s ar e dam aging t he
developm ent of a count r y and is not helping t o t he people w ho
alr eady ar e under going t ough and st r essful t im es t r ying t o find t heir
ident it y bet w een Russian, Lat vian ( or Est onian) and Eur opean Union.
Con clu sion
As t he Balt ic st at es ar e t r ying t o fine- t une t he solut ion t o t he
pr oblem of social int egr at ion and com m unicat ion aspect s of it , life
goes on and people live t heir everyday lives no m at t er w het her t heir
et hnic backgr ound is Lat vian, Est onian, Lit huanian, Russian, Polish,
Jew ish or Rom a. The pr oblem of t w o infor m at ion envir onm ent s in
Est onia and Lat via t oday is m ainly polit ical and being ex ploit ed for
polit ical pur poses. I n general, social int egr at ion in t he Balt ics has
been acknow ledged as successful by m any West er n obser ver
or ganizat ions and t her e is not hing w r ong w it h having differ ent
opinions in t he m edia, as long as it does not endanger t he st abilit y of
dem ocr acy w hich it can har dly do t oday w it h t he Balt ic st at es being
m em ber s of t he Eur opean Union. Wit h t he accession of t he Balt ic
st at es, t he EU not only w elcom ed t he fir st post - Sov iet st at es but also
t he fir st significant num ber of Russian speaker s. I n t oday’s w or ld
nat ionalit y plays a differ ent r ole and as Eur ope becom es m or e
diver se, w e w ill have t o lear n how t o live t oget her , shar e com m on
values and celebr at e t he differ ences.
As a m at t er of fact , anot her pr oof t o successes in social
int egr at ion in t he Balt ics is spor t s and cult ur e. Most Lat vian ice
hockey player s on t he t eam ar e Russians by et hnicit y but t hey ar e
Lat vian her oes t o ever yone w ho know s w hat ice hockey is in Lat via,
is a Russian by backgr ound but t hat did not st op t he w hole of Lat via
celebr at ing t he vict or y and loving t he singer . The t hr ee final songs for
2007 com pet it ion w er e all m or e t han j ust Lat vian—one w as even
sung in Russian by a Lat vian singer, t he ot her one feat ur ed t w o lead
singer s—a Lat vian and a Russian and even t he w inning song w as
sung by fiv e Lat v ian singer s, som e of w hom hav e Russian last nam es,
and ( ! ) an I t alian, w ho lives in Lat via. And t housands of people vot ed
for t hese gr oups, fr om all et hnic backgr ounds.
As t he Balt ics ar e st ill t r ying t o over com e t he aft er m at h of t he
past and sor t out som e m ult icult ur al issues, ot her t oler ance subj ect s
such as r acism and hom ophobia have sur faced in all t hr ee count r ies.
These issues ar e being ser iously r aised by var ious non- gover nm ent al
or ganizat ions, and gover nm ent s ar e st ar t ing t o seek for solut ions t o
t hese pr oblem at ic issues. And again, t he m edia phenom enon is v er y
int er est ing—t his t im e not div ided by t he language lines but by t heir
under st anding of t oler ance. These issues ar e on agenda not only in
t he Balt ic st at es but also elsew here in Eur ope and ot her par t s of t he
w or ld. Hopefully t he Balt ics w ill look at t he best ex am ples and com e
up w it h ev en bet t er solut ions. Media has a vit al r ole t o play in
Re fe r e n ce s:
Br ikse, I ., Duze, D. and Sulm ane, I . ( 1993) . Lat via: Fr om t he Singing
Revolut ion t o t he 1993 Elect ions. I n Hoyer , S., Lauk, E. and
Vihalem m , P. ( eds.) Tow ar ds a Civic Societ y: The Balt ic Media’s
Long Road t o Fr eedom . Tar t u, Balt ic Associat ion for Media
Resear ch/ Not a Balt ica, Lt d.
Gut e, G. ( 2007) . Racism , Abr ene and t he Elit e of Special For ces.
I nt er view w it h Lat vian Am bassador t o Russia Andr is Teikm anis
in Republika.lv. Ret r ieved on 10.02.2007.
ht t p: / / w w w .r epublika.lv/ ?id= ar t icle&nid= 1054.
McQuail, D. ( 2005) . Mass Com m unicat ion Theor y. London, Sage
Publicat ions.
Mickiew icz, E. ( 1998.) Tr ansit ion and Dem ocr at izat ion: The Role of
Jour nalist s in East er n Eur ope and For m er Soviet Union. I n
Gaber , D., McQuail, D. and Nor r is, P. ( eds.) , The Polit ics of
New s, t he New s of Polit ics. Washingt on, D.C., CQ Pr ess.
Laur ist in, M. Vihalem m , P. ( 1993) . The Com m unist Pr ess in t he
Soviet Republics. I n Hoyer , S., Lauk, E. and Vihalem m , P.
( eds.) Tow ar ds a Civic Societ y: The Balt ic Media’s Long Road t o
Fr eedom . Tar t u, Balt ic Associat ion for Media Resear ch/ Not a
Balt ica, Lt d.
Laur ist in, M. and Vihalem m , P. ( eds.) ( 1997) . Ret ur n t o t he West er n
Wor ld. Tar t u Univer sit y Pr ess.
Laur ist in, M. Vihalem m , P. ( 2002) . The Tr ansfor m at ion of Est onian
Societ y and Media: 1987- 2001. I n Vihalem , P. ( ed.) Balt ic
Media in Tr ansit ion. Tar t u Univer sit y Pr ess.
Ruklis, K. ( 2001) . Scenar ios for Polit ical, Econom ic and Social
Developm ent of t he Lat vian St at e and Societ y fr om a
Jour nalist ic Per spect ive in Lat via – 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996,
Sm it h, D., Pabr ik s, A., Purs, A. and Lane, T. ( 2002) . The Balt ic
St at es: Est onia, Lat via and Lit huania. London and New Yor k,
Rout ledge.
Sulm ane, I . ( 2001) . Et hnic and polit ical st er eot ypes in Lat vian and
Russian language pr ess in Lat via. Paper pr esent ed at 15t h
Nor dic Confer ence on Media and Com m unicat ion Resear ch,
