Ir (newspaper)

"Ir" was founded to continue the tradition of independent journalism at Diena. Immediately after the restoration of Latvian independence, Diena was called in the New York Times "the most adamantly independent major new daily among the nations of post-Soviet Europe".[3] It was the leading independent daily in Latvia until its sale by the Swedish Bonnier Group, to unknown owners, during the late 2000s economic downturn in Latvia.[4][5] This was a clear threat to independent journalism. It caused journalists and editorial staff to leave and found "Ir" as a new independent initiative.[6][7]

Ir's editor-in-chief is Nellija Ločmele, a former Diena journalist.

In order to guarantee journalistic independence, AS „Cits medijs”, the legal owner behind Ir, is governed by strict rules regarding shareholding and ethics.[8] No more than 25% of the newspaper can belong to one party.

AS „Cits medijs” is partly owned by the journalists themselves. Other notable shareholders include Ints Siliņš, former US ambassador to Latvia. Cofounder and president of the board is Pauls Raudseps, a Latvian-American who co-founded Diena in 1990.

Further information about the company AS „Cits medijs” can be found using its EU company registration number.

Some examples demonstrating Ir's relevance:

• NPR referred to Ir's then economics editor Pauls Raudseps for an article about Latvia adopting the euro.[9]
• Ir's Pauls Raudseps was a speaker at TEDx Riga, among speakers including Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, former president of Latvia.[10][11]
• Ir gets quoted covering a corruption scandal in a Xinhua News Agency article.[12]

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