Vekteris, commenting on Schultz’s statement to the LETA agency that he is an old business partner of the potential chairman of the board of LSM, Baiba Zūzenas, said that he has been in the industry since 1995, has worked both in radio and television, and created media. “We have not had any business partnership projects with Baiba Zuzen, never. It’s just that, working in the industry, these people are known,” said Vekteris.
He stated that he considers Zūzen as a professional in the industry, and also believes that the other nominated members of the board are also competent in their issues. Therefore, as Vekteris pointed out, he does not speculate with any insults or information that in this case is completely untrue.
Vekteris emphasized that, in his opinion, all nominated board members are professionals. “Team work is important, although each of us is responsible for our own area, it is important to be a team on the board, and also for the board to find opportunities and to communicate with the rest of the team. Then the public media will become a very strong model for the public media of other countries as well, and I think that we can do that,” said Vekteris.
At the same time, he emphasized that the board will have a lot of work, especially in the first year, but everything can be done if there is a good team.
Vekteris revealed that he would like to meet with Latvian Television and Latvian Radio teams. “I want everything to be clear to everyone, because entering the collective with unspoken questions or uncertainties is not the best form of communication,” Vekteris said, adding that, taking into account what has been said in the public space today, he would like to have clear answers from both him and SEPLP .
He expressed that he does not see any problems in taking this position, but if someone sees them, then he is ready to answer any question.
Outlining his vision of the unified LSM, Vekteris stated that, in his opinion, public media should be where the audience consumes it. He expressed that digital transformation is important, business continuity should be considered.
“Technologies must be adapted to the habits of the audience, which are present and which will develop in the near future, therefore the public media has every opportunity to be a leader both in terms of content and technology,” said Vekteris.
At the same time, he added that this does not mean that we should focus only on digital platforms, because social media has a fairly large audience on linear platforms as well.
As reported, when the first applicant withdrew his candidacy, SEPLP decided on Tuesday to nominate the second applicant who received more points – the executive director of the Latvian Broadcasting Association Vekteri – to the position of a member of the board of the unified LSM in matters of technology management.
Vekteris created and managed both regional and national media, including Vidzeme Television, “ReTV”, “Radio Tev”, “Radio Skonto Latvija”. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in strategic communication and management at Vidzeme University.
The SEPLP meeting on the election of all LSM board members will be held on November 13.
Schultz, who was initially nominated for the position, withdrew his candidacy on Tuesday.
He expressed in the “Krustpunkt” program of Latvian Radio that he was unpleasantly surprised by the intrigues that have formed around the position and had unofficially heard that the other candidate who made it to the last round of the competition is an old business partner of the potential LSM board chairwoman Baiba Zūzenas, so there is a desire to work with a familiar person with whom she has collaborated in many business projects.
Schultz pointed out that although every member of the board has the same rights and the chairman of the board does not choose the members of the board, he understands that cooperation in such a board, which should be based on mutual trust and aimed at achieving goals, is strongly endangered in this case.
He emphasized that the members of the board should be independent of each other and not related to old business ties, therefore, in his opinion, by nominating an old business partner of Züzenas to the position of board member in matters of technology management, independence is threatened and old business ties may create a desire to jointly organize some projects .
Therefore, Schultz invited SEPLP to create a new competition for his position, in which he undertakes not to participate.
Meanwhile, Suzen stated that it is difficult for her to comment on the insults that she somehow promoted the second place winner of this position. “I expressed my concerns, those people who know me in the business, during the TV3 days, even afterwards, know that I have never had any difficulty in openly expressing my opinion, and I did it this time as well,” said Suzen, adding that SEPLP will approve the board and will work with such a board.
LSM board member candidates held a meeting with Latvian Television employees on Monday. “Right now, it is difficult for me to see a way in which we could meaningfully work together,” Zūzena said after Monday’s conversation about Šults in the Latvian Television program “Panorāma”.
In addition to Vekter and Züzena, three more candidates are being promoted to the board. Ieva Aile is promoted to the position of board member in matters of program and service development, Inese Tanne to the position of board member in matters of financial management, and Ilze Ogle is nominated to the position of board member in matters of personnel management.
At the beginning of April, the merger of Latvijas Radio and Latvijas Televīzisas began, with the two state-owned companies merging to establish LSM, which will begin work on January 1, 2025.
Source: www.diena.lv
