“This is basically an open provocation by Gitano Nausėda (…) Liudvika Meškauskaitė was once an excellent media law expert, whose lectures were pleasant and useful to listen to, but she has become an open enemy of journalists. Her law firm defended not just compromised figures in disputes against journalists,” wrote LRT journalist Indrė Makaraitytė on Facebook.
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Communications expert Karolis Žukauskas described L. Meškauskaitė as a “participant in the pro-Russian anti-vaxxers Health Law Institute and OpTV shows.”
Journalist and public figure Rita Miliūtė also spoke out, stating that “the new Nausėda representative in the LRT council, Liudvika Meškauskaitė, considers Paksas’ impeachment as persecution and humiliation of the president, seeing the flag of Ukraine defending itself from Russian aggression in Trakai Castle makes a Lithuanian’s heart simply break, and in courts against LRT journalists, LMK (her firm) worked for a Belaruskali partner in Lithuania, seeking to lift sanctions on Lukashenko’s Belarus.”
“The journalism profession is degenerating”
This week L. Meškauskaitė responded to this wave of criticism. According to her, the problem is that journalists are becoming activists and forgetting the provisions set out in the Public Information Act.
“The fundamental problem is the state of the media in today’s world and in today’s Lithuania – we see that there are many problems with the media, with journalism. The journalism profession is degenerating – journalists are becoming propagandists,” L. Meškauskaitė said on “Žinių radijas” on Wednesday.
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“I am one of those people who do not mince words, I speak quite sincerely, quite openly. I talk about media topics, perhaps I express opinions regardless of whether you like them or not,” she asserted.
“Journalists are becoming activists, part of the political process – this is a problem. There is a theory that a journalist must be active – to educate, moralize, and support a certain narrative. I adhere to the classical journalism theory that a journalist must first provide accurate, precise, and unbiased information – as stated in the Public Information Act,” the lawyer added.
She was appointed to the LRT council until 2030, replacing Giedrius Jucevičius, who said he was resigning due to increased workload.
The LRT council consists of 12 members. Four are appointed by the president and the Seimas (2 by the ruling party, 2 by the opposition), and another 4 by the Science Council, the Lithuanian Artists’ Association, the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference, and the Lithuanian Education Council.
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Council members are appointed for a 6-year term.
