Latvian Radio news chief resigns after criticism over storm coverage

Uģis Lībietis, head of Latvian Radio's News Service, announced his resignation on Monday evening following criticism over insufficient radio news coverage during a crisis caused by a powerful storm, public broadcaster LSM reported.

Ieva Aile, an LSM board member responsible for programme and service development, acknowledged that mistakes were made both in coordinating the response and in the speed of decision-making regarding changes to Latvian Radio 1's programming. She noted that on Sunday, radio was the only source of information for thousands of residents who expected far more comprehensive coverage of the unfolding situation, and apologized to listeners.

Crisis review

LSM convened a crisis management meeting to evaluate the performance of all its media platforms during the storm. It concluded that digital platforms, television and radio overall provided broad and continuous information flow, with news teams and programme staff working beyond normal hours, but that radio news coverage had not been satisfactory.

Despite communication disruptions that also affected some staff members, LSM managed to quickly bring in additional personnel, including colleagues normally working in other content areas and regions.

Next steps

The meeting concluded that internal communication and coordination need strengthening, that preparation for possible crisis scenarios should happen earlier, and that clear decision-making procedures are needed for situations where a link in the information chain becomes unavailable, such as due to communication failures. LSM emphasized that radio can become the sole available information source during crises.

LSM noted that on Sunday, Latvian Radio 1's morning show "Labrīt" included extra news bulletins every half hour, while Latvian Television prepared two special news bulletins. From 4 p.m. to midnight, radio news aired every half hour, and TV news broadcasts were extended. The storm that hit Latvia overnight on August 23 was the strongest summer storm since 1966, according to data from the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre.