At the meeting of the National Electronic Media Council (NEPLP) on 16 December, the former NEPLP Vice-President Ivars Āboliņš was elected unanimously as the new head of NEPLP, former NEPLP member Aurēlija Ieva Druviete was elected unanimously as Vice-President, a decision on the distribution of responsibilities and co responsibilities was also made.
As the Chairman of THE NEPLP I. Āboliņš points out, the Council must define its objectives and proceed consistently to their realization. “As the main directions, i can name the protection of the Latvian information space, support for the creation of local content, international cooperation, as well as issues of media literacy. I also see opportunities to improve the organization of work of the NEPLP Office. There are really powerful professionals working in our team, and i am sorry that these people, because of the events of the past year, had to pass through the greatest challenges," says I.Āboliņš.
“Right now, it is important for NEPLP to regain reputation and, with severe daily work, we will do it. The Council, first of all, I see as an industry regulator, so i am very pleased that politicians have promised to entrust the public media holding function to a new institution for the next year. In contrast, NEPLP needs to further strengthen the Monitoring Centre and the Legal Division, focusing on market regulation. The information room of Latvia must be protected and strengthened on a daily basis. And this also includes the priorities of NEPLP i have pointed out previously," says I. Āboliņš.
At the meeting, a decision was made to divide the duties as follows :
Ivars Āboliņš ensures supervision of the overall work of the council and carries out work associated with the safety of the informative space.
Aurēlija Ieva Druviete pursues international cooperation and monitoring of media literacy.
Patriks Grīva work in the field of commercial and non-commercial (including local, regional, national and cross-border) radio and television.
Members of the Council are responsible for all the areas of responsibility listed above.
The members of the Council jointly implement:
- Supervision of VSIA “Latvijas Televīzija” and VSIA “Latvijas Radio” ;
- Supervision of joint projects of VSIA “Latvijas Televīzija” and VSIA “Latvijas Radio”;
- Interinstitutional cooperation;
- Draft amendments to the laws and regulations affecting the operation of electronic mass media.
- Monitoring of cable television and electronic mass media services upon request.
As already reported, on 15 December, the working relationship with NEPLP was interrupted with the former Chairwoman and member of NEPLP, Dace Kezbere.