Rumors have reached the Estonian Association of Media Enterprises that the government coalition decided on Thursday afternoon to raise the VAT rate on newspaper subscriptions by 4 percentage points without any analysis and without involving newspaper publishers, the association said.
Following the decision of Harju County Court to impose a fine on two journalists with investigative weekly Eesti Ekspress, after the publication of an article disclosing money laundering suspicions against former management at Swedbank, the two major organizations representing both the private and the public media in Estonia have issued a joint statement.
Estonian public broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) is one of the most underfunded organizations of its kind in Europe, the broadcaster's board chair Erik Roose says. At the same time, cultural funding as a whole needs boosting in Estonia, while some mistruths put about by some of the private sector media leaders need dispelling, Roose says.
Lead editors of media outlets in the Estonian Association of Media Enterprises named the COVID-19 scientific advisory committee friend of the press at a virtual annual meeting on Friday.
Estonian
The number of digital subscriptions of the largest Baltic media group, AS Ekspress Grupp increased by 16% across all Baltic States in the
1
year-over-year) and totalled 94 639 at the end of March.
The number of digital subscriptions of AS Ekspress Meedia that publishes the news portal Delfi, newspapers Eesti Päevaleht, Maaleht, Eesti Ekspress and several popular magazines increased by 19% in the 1
st quarter and 65% year-over-year, totalling 59 183.
The number of digital subscriptions of AS Õhtuleht, 50% of which is owned by Ekspress Grupp, increased by 9% in the 1
st quarter and 30% year-over-year, totalling 15 005.
The market share of Ekspress Grupp in the digital subscriptions of all Estonian media outlets (according to the data by the Estonian Association of Media Enterprises) was 49% at the end of March.