Lithuania local news media

Lithuanian lands were united under Mindaugas in 1236. Over the next century, through alliances and conquest, Lithuania extended its territory to include most of present-day Belarus and Ukraine. By the end of the 14th century Lithuania was the largest state in Europe. An alliance with Poland in 1386 led the two countries into a union through the person of a common ruler. In 1569, Lithuania and Poland formally united into a single dual state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This entity survived until 1795 when its remnants were partitioned by surrounding countries. Lithuania regained its independence following World War I but was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but Moscow did not recognize this proclamation until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently restructured its economy for integration into Western European institutions; it joined both NATO and the European Union in the spring of 2004.

Broadcast media in Lithuania are dominated by a public broadcaster which operates three channels, including one satellite channel. Additionally, various privately-owned commercial TV broadcasters operate national and multiple regional channels. A large number of privately-owned local TV stations in addition to multichannel cable and satellite TV services are available. Also, the publicly-owned broadcaster operates three radio networks and a large number of privately-owned commercial broadcasters operate in regions throughout the country.

There are 14 national daily newspapers published in Lithuania. The most popular of these are: Vakaro žinios, Lietuvos Rytas, and Respublika. The regional weeklies with the largest number of subscribers are Kauno Diena, Klaipeda, and Siauliu Naujienos.