EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Markets and Companies

Ivars Zarins.

Zarins expressed such an opinion at a forum organized by the center for public policy Providus, in cooperation with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and the U.S.-Baltic Foundation, writes LETA.

Over the first half of this year the number of the newspaper Diena subscribers fell steeply, while the number of subscription to the newspaper Neatkariga increased, Zarins said. "If readers would be really concerned with transparency, until June they should all have been reading Diena only, however, subscriptions data shows a different situation," Zarins said.

As reported, at the beginning of July this year the company Aleksandrs Tralmaks' company Nedela S.A. took over Latvian media group, including the newspapers Diena and Dienas Bizness from its previous owners Bonnier Business Press.

For several months, Tralmaks did not reveal the source of financing for the deal, until he announced on October 9 that the Rowland family from England had become the owner of Diena and Dienas Bizness.

The Rowlands had provided a loan so Tralmaks' company Nedela S.A. could acquire the two newspapers. Now the loan has been restructured and the Rowland family is the two newspapers' owner.

Tralmaks informed that he would continue as Diena board chairman in charge of the newspaper's further development.

Dienas mediji Editor in Chief Nellija Locmele and the Editor in Chief of the newspaper Diena, Anita Brauna, on submitted their resignations and left the newspaper, pointing out that the lack of transparency in the media sales deal has caused a significant damage to the image of Diena. Several other employees submitted their resignations as well, including the respectable commentator and op ed page editor Pauls Raudseps.