{"id":37250,"date":"2026-01-15T13:59:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T11:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transparency.lt\/?p=37250"},"modified":"2026-01-16T14:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T12:01:00","slug":"54-politicians-and-their-spouses-owned-one-out-of-seven-media-outlets-last-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transparency.lt\/en\/54-politicians-and-their-spouses-owned-one-out-of-seven-media-outlets-last-year\/","title":{"rendered":"54 politicians and their spouses owned one out of seven media outlets last year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year, 54 politicians and their spouses owned 109 media outlets. In total, there were 806 different types of print media, televisions, internet portals, radio, news agencies and other media operating during the year 2025 in Lithuania, according to updated media monitoring portal STIRNA.info<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2025, media ownership was linked to 2 members of parliament, 9 municipal council members from the Ignalina, K\u0117dainiai, Radvili\u0161kis, \u0160irvintos, \u0160ven\u010dionys, Utena, Zarasai districts and the City of Vilnius, as well as 36 other politicians who had previously run in elections. The shareholdings owned by politicians ranged from 0.01% to 100%. Two thirds of the media outlets they owned were regional or local.<\/p>\n

Seven spouses of politicians also owned media outlets last year. In 2025, they held positions as\u00a0 municipal council members (2) and civil servants (2).<\/p>\n

Media outlets were owned by the members of the Social Democratic Party (9 members, 18 media outlets), the Homeland Union \u2013 Lithuanian Christian Democrats (5 members, 14 media outlets), the Union for Nation and Justice (centrists, nationalists) (5 members, 13 media outlets) and Liberal Movement (5 members, 8 media outlets).<\/p>\n

Other political parties members and their media outlets ownership:<\/p>\n

National Alliance – 4 members, 5 media outlets;<\/p>\n

Christian Union – 3 members, 3 media outlets;<\/p>\n

Labour party – 2 members, 3 media outlets;<\/p>\n

\u201cFreedom and Justice\u201d party – 2 members, 3 media outlets;<\/p>\n

Union of Democrats “For Lithuania” – 2 members, 2 media outlets;<\/p>\n

Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union – 2 members, 2 media outlets;<\/p>\n

\u201cOrder and Justice\u201d party – 1 member, 3 media outlets;<\/p>\n

Political Committee “Bir\u017eai Revival” – 1 member, 3 media outlets;<\/p>\n

Public Election Committee “Kitaip” – 1 member, 3 media outlets;<\/p>\n

Solidarity Union of Generations \u2013 Solidarity for Lithuania – 1 member, 2 outlets;<\/p>\n

\u201cDawn of Nemunas\u201d party – 1 member, 1 media outlet;<\/p>\n

Public Election Committee “For a Better Future in Marijampol\u0117” – 1 member, 1 media outlet;<\/p>\n

Public Election Committee “United Zarasai” – 1 member, 1 media outlet;<\/p>\n

Self-appointed person – 1 member, 3 media outlets.<\/p>\n

Over the last five years, the number of politicians, civil servants, and their spouses possessing a media outlet has decreased by one fifth. In 2021, there were 68 owners while this number decreased to 54 in 2025. Additionally, the number of media outlets they owned also declined, from 129 to 109.<\/p>\n

Compared to 2021, the overall number of media outlets in Lithuania decreased by approximately one quarter: from 1,064 to 806. Transparency International Lithuania notes that since 2023, following the launch of the VIRSIS system managed by the Ministry of Culture, media outlets were required to re-register and resubmit their data.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am glad that from 2023, as VIRSIS was launched, we are able to see more data about media operations and ownership in total. However, a closer look shows that it is still not entirely clear who is required to submit which data. For VIRSIS to become a real transparency tool and not just a formality, leadership from the Ministry of Culture and the active involvement of media outlets themselves are particularly important,\u201d – said Ingrida Kalinauskien\u0117, the CEO of Transparency International Lithuania.<\/p>\n

The website www.stirna.info<\/a> uses information on media ownership collected from the Ministry of Culture managed VIRSIS system, datasets from the Central Electoral Commission, and data obtained upon request from the Chief Official Ethics Commission. The data covers the period up to 30 June 2025.<\/p>\n

For more information: Ingrida Kalinauskien\u0117, ingrida@transparency.lt, www.stirna.info<\/a><\/p>\n

The initiative is funded by the Waverley Street Foundation under Transparency International’s Climate Governance Integrity Programme.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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