Mass media in Latvia is regulated by national laws on press and electronic media, as well as international and EU laws. Media is divided into public and commercial sectors. Public media includes TV and radio stations operated by state-owned companies, while commercial media are privately owned. It is important for organizations to understand their target audience's media habits and preferences to identify the most effective channels for outreach, rather than only the most popular overall.

1. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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Specifics and principles of
how media works in the
country
“Media” is not an easily definable concept, it is possible to view it from
various different angles, but when thinking about mass media, the closest is
the technical understanding of this concept. According to it, the matter of
technical multiplication is very important, because then it is possible to
transmit the message to the biggest possible audience. It can be done on
various formats – textual, audio, visual or audio-visual. Mass media is
“Forexample, newspapers, journals, TV, radio, web pages and also others
large scale interactive platforms intended for public communication.” (Mass
Media Policy Guidelines of Latvia 2016-2020) In turn mass communication
is defined as a form of communication by which a message is
communicated to receivers through media. (Mass Media Policy Guidelines
of Latvia 2016-2020)
Likewise, media convergence is becoming increasingly popular
nowadays, meaning the gradual merging of traditional media and the
Internet. This aspect is important because it changes the behavior of
consumers, causing the media to look for new ways to attract and keep
audience’s attention. (Mass Media Policy Guidelines of Latvia 2016-2020)
In Latvia, mass media field is regulated by the law “On the Press and
Other Mass Media”, which statethat “Mass media are newspapers, journals,
newsletters and other periodicals (if they are published not less than once
every three months and one-time circulation exceeds 100 copies). Also
electronic mass media, cinema chronologies, announcements by
information agencies and audio-visual recordings for public dissemination.”
(Law On the Press and Other Mass Media) Electronic mass media field is
also regulated by the Electronic Mass Media Law.
In general, mass media activities in Latvia are governed by the above-
mentioned national laws, as well as international and EU laws. (Mass
Media Policy Guidelines of Latvia 2016-2020)

2. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
15
In Latvia electronic media is divided in public media, which are state
capital companies and commercial media. Public media in Latvia are:
television channels LTV1 and LTV7, as well as the radio: Latvian Radio 1;
2; 3; 4; 5 and 6. In the last month, the most watched TV channel in Latvia
has been LTV1 (TNS), which for a long time competes with popular media
channel TV3, which mostly provides entertainment shows. This most likely
points to improvement of quality of the LTV1.
The most listened radio stations in the spring period in Latvia have
been “Latvian radio 2”, “Radio Skonto”, “Latvian Radio 1”, “Radio SWH”,
“Europen Hit Radio” and “Star FM” (TNS).
These are just some examples about the information that can be
gained in the websitewww.tns.lv, where all kinds of media and audience
studies can be found.
But as mentioned previously, it is not most important to get publicity in
a media which is the most popular, it is important to get publicity in a media
which is the most popular for your target audience. That’s why, before
sending out press releases or trying to contact the media in other ways, it is
important to try to answer a few questions (it can be done by a small
research by yourself or by visitingthe respective information website in your
country) -
 What are the media habits of your target audience – what kind of
media they use the most?
 How to deliver the message if they do not use any media?
 What are the opinion leaders they follow and trust (journalists, bloggers
etc.)? (Parry, Shone, 2001)
Also a simple logical approach to thismust be taken into account –
forexample, how much visual material the concrete event can provide, is
there more to show or say about it? It is important to think about the
characteristics of the media.
One more important aspect is to understand the difference between
public relations and advertising (“any statement distributed for payment or
other consideration, as well as any promotional program of any person
related to commerce, business, profession or profession, designed to
promote the offer of goods, including immovable property or services, for

3. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
16
payment or other consideration”) (Electronic Media Law), if a journalist
offers to create a publication for money – it is not a positive practise and it
is illegal.
Mass media in Latvia are regulated by national laws – the law “On the
Press and Other Mass Media” and by the Electronic Mass Media Law, as
well as international and EU laws. Media in Latvia are divided in public and
commercial media. A lot of information about the most viewed/listened
media channels and their auditory you can found on website www.tns.lv,
but it is important to remember that it is not always the most popular
channel you need, but the one that attracts your target audience the most.
Exercise
Taking into consideration questions about target audience
mentioned in this sub-unit, go to the respective website in your
country and try to identify your main media channels according to
their and your event`s target audience and specificity