{"id":52195,"date":"2022-03-17T17:09:06","date_gmt":"2022-03-17T21:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=52195"},"modified":"2022-03-17T17:09:06","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T21:09:06","slug":"rfe-rl-opens-offices-in-latvia-lithuania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/03\/rfe-rl-opens-offices-in-latvia-lithuania\/","title":{"rendered":"RFE\/RL Opens Offices In Latvia & Lithuania"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Eric Jon Magnuson, who shares a link to the following press release from RFE\/RL:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
As War Transforms Media Landscape in Europe, RFE\/RL Opens Offices In Latvia, Lithuania<\/a><\/h1>\r\n

WASHINGTON\u2014Following the forced suspension of RFE\/RL operations in Russia on March 6, RFE\/RL is pleased to announce the opening of news bureaus in Riga, Latvia and Vilnius, Lithuania. These offices will house teams from RFE\/RL\u2019s Russia and Belarus services and the 24\/7 Current Time global digital and TV network, and also provide a base for new investigative journalism projects and digital innovation hubs.

Said RFE\/RL President Jamie Fly, \u201cThese new bureaus will allow RFE\/RL to continue to engage with our audiences in Russia and Belarus, despite those government\u2019s best efforts to silence independent journalism. RFE\/RL will expand its already-successful efforts to reach Russian and Belarusian audiences with the relevant news they seek, and desperately need. We are grateful to the Latvian and Lithuanian governments for their commitment to press freedom and their support for vulnerable journalists who have had to seek safe haven outside their home countries.\u201d

In Riga, RFE\/RL plans to establish a multimedia hub that will host Russian Service and Current Time staff displaced from Russia. The Latvian capital will also house a new, Russian-language investigative journalism unit and a digital innovation hub designed to counter disinformation and develop strategies to circumvent online censorship across delivery platforms. The Vilnius news bureau will primarily host displaced Belarus Service journalists forced to flee after the flawed 2020 elections, as well as a new reporting team being set up by Current Time to serve the needs of the network\u2019s Russian-speaking audiences in Belarus.

RFE\/RL\u2019s impact during the first two weeks of Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine demonstrates the appetite within Russia and Belarus for a credible, uncensored alternative to Kremlin media about the full scope of the conflict. Between February 24 and March 16, the number of views of RFE\/RL videos on YouTube from Russia tripled to nearly 238 million, while the number of visits, page views, and unique visitors to its websites from Russia rose by 34 percent, 51 percent, and 53 percent respectively. As for Belarus, the number of RFE\/RL videos viewed via YouTube from inside the country quadrupled (to 22.4 million), and the number of visits (+158%), page views (+148%), and unique visitors (+110) to RFE\/RL websites from Belarus has also increased dramatically.

RFE\/RL deeply appreciates the support of the governments of Latvia and Lithuania for RFE\/RL\u2019s mission and for the establishment of these new bureaus. The people of Latvia and Lithuania have for decades been enthusiastic consumers of RFE\/RL programming\u2014both of RFE\/RL\u2019s Latvian and Lithuanian services that operated from 1975 to 2004, and more recently of Current Time programming. RFE\/RL President Fly visited Vilnius and Riga this past January, in part to attend the Lithuanian premiere of the award-winning, Current Time-commissioned film \u201cMr. Landsbergis,\u201d about Lithuania\u2019s struggle to restore its independence.

RFE\/RL\u2019s Russian Service is a multiplatform alternative to Russian state-controlled media, providing audiences in the Russian Federation with informed and accurate news, analysis, and opinion. The Russian Service\u2019s websites, including its regional reporting units Siberia.Realities and North.Realities, earned a monthly average of 12.7 million visits and 20.6 million page views in 2021, while 297 million Russian Service videos were viewed on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Current Time is a 24\/7 Russian-language digital and TV network led by RFE\/RL in cooperation with VOA, that caters to Russian-speakers worldwide. In addition to reporting uncensored news, it is the largest provider of independent, Russian-language films to its audiences. Despite rising pressure on Current Time from the Russian government, Current Time videos were viewed over 1.3 billion times on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram\/IGTV in FY2021.

Labeled an “extremist organization” by the Belarus government, RFE\/RL\u2019s Belarus Service provides independent news and analysis to Belarusian audiences in their own language, relying on social media platforms such as Telegram, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as mirror sites and an updated news app to circumvent pervasive Internet blockages and access disruptions.

About RFE\/RL
RFE\/RL relies on its networks of local reporters to provide accurate news and information to more than 37 million people every week in 27 languages and 23 countries where media freedom is restricted, or where a professional press has not fully developed. Its videos were viewed 7 billion times on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram\/IGTV in FY2021. RFE\/RL is an editorially independent media company funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

<\/p>\r\n

Click here to read\u00a0 this announcement at RFE\/RL.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric Jon Magnuson, who shares a link to the following press release from RFE\/RL: As War Transforms Media Landscape in Europe, RFE\/RL Opens Offices In Latvia, Lithuania WASHINGTON\u2014Following the forced suspension of RFE\/RL operations in Russia on March 6, RFE\/RL is pleased to announce the opening of news bureaus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,960,3,43],"tags":[1136,9723,3547,1160,1528,1094,34,4655],"class_list":["post-52195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadcasters","category-international-broadcasting","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-free-press","tag-latvia","tag-lithuania","tag-radio-free-europe","tag-radio-liberty","tag-rfe","tag-shortwave","tag-why-shortwave"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-dzR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55287,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/radio-waves-radio-marti-sdrs-for-ukraine-military-morse-code-innovation-and-rfe-rl-opens-riga-bureau\/","url_meta":{"origin":52195,"position":0},"title":"Radio Waves: Radio Mart\u00ed, SDRs for Ukraine, Military Morse Code Innovation, and RFE\/RL Opens Riga Bureau","author":"Thomas","date":"January 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.\u00a0Enjoy! Radio Mart\u00ed news: Migrants land by Keys broadcasting tower promoting Cuban democracy (Miami Herald) Washington maintains a waterfront radio tower\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Spectrum-Display-Airspy-SDR-Sharp.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Spectrum-Display-Airspy-SDR-Sharp.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Spectrum-Display-Airspy-SDR-Sharp.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Spectrum-Display-Airspy-SDR-Sharp.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27888,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/rferadio-liberty-add-transmitter-in-lithuania\/","url_meta":{"origin":52195,"position":1},"title":"RFE\/Radio Liberty add transmitter in Lithuania","author":"Thomas","date":"September 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kim Elliott, who notes that Radio Free Europe \/ Radio Liberty have added a new transmitter in Lithuania: (Source: The Baltic Course) A new transmitter will be launched in Lithuania this week for broadcasting the Russian and Belarusian-language services of the US Congress-funded Radio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Lithuania-Map.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Lithuania-Map.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Lithuania-Map.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Lithuania-Map.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62456,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/federal-judge-temporarily-preserves-rfe-rl-funding\/","url_meta":{"origin":52195,"position":2},"title":"Federal Judge Temporarily Preserves RFE\/RL Funding","author":"Thomas","date":"March 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) from cutting off funding to Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, citing a lack of proper justification. The ruling allows the network to continue operations while the legal case moves forward. Read the full story at NPR.","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/RFE-Radio-Liberty-Logo.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/RFE-Radio-Liberty-Logo.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/RFE-Radio-Liberty-Logo.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/RFE-Radio-Liberty-Logo.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26629,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/cold-war-broadcasting-two-articles-feature-rfe-radio-liberty\/","url_meta":{"origin":52195,"position":3},"title":"Cold War Broadcasting: Two articles feature RFE & Radio Liberty","author":"Thomas","date":"June 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino, who shares the following article from the website Journalism Is Not A Crime: From Propaganda to Journalism: How Radio Free Europe Pierced the Iron Curtain The end of the Second World War signaled the beginning of an information war in Europe. 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The U.S. Agency for Global Media announced that 532 federal positions are being cut, part of a larger restructuring effort that\u2019s already stirred up legal challenges\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23200,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/radio-free-europe-receives-offhand-mention-in-senate-hearing-on-russian-hacking\/","url_meta":{"origin":52195,"position":5},"title":"Radio Free Europe receives offhand mention in Senate hearing on Russian Hacking","author":"Thomas","date":"January 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Aaron Kuhn, who\u00a0writes: [While passing by the TV at just the right time] I heard an interesting little 16 seconds of exchange in the Senate Russian Hacking hearings. The exchange take place between Lindsey Graham and James Clapper from 1:57:40 to 1:58:24: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RLB2ws41cEI&feature=youtu.be&t=7044 Click here to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/RLB2ws41cEI\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52195\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}