28 March 2012 Last updated at 04:36 ET

Latvia profile

• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media
• Timeline

Newspapers - some of which are on the web - reflect a variety of views

Latvia's TV market is dominated by the commercial LNT, two networks operated by the national public broadcaster, commercial TV3 Latvia and the Baltic variants of the main Russian networks. Public radio and TV are financed by state subsidies and advertising.

Around 140 newspaper titles reflect a variety of political views.

The media operate freely, with few legal restrictions. A law provides prison terms for libel and incitement of racial hatred.

However, there have been serious press freedom violations in recent years, according to Reporters Without Borders. It cited the murder of a media owner in April 2010, and said journalists have been stabbed or beaten in the past decade.

By mid-2010, around 1.5 million Latvians were online (Internetworldstats).

The press

• Diena - daily
• Neatkariga Rita Avize (NRA) - broadsheet, in Latvian
• Dienas Bizness - business tabloid in Latvian, affiliated to Diena
• Telegraf - main Russian-language daily
• Latvijas Avize - tabloid, daily
• Chas - Russian-language daily
• Biznes & Baltiya - business broadsheet in Russian
• Vesti Segodnya - Russian-language daily
• Vakara Avize Vakara Zinas - evening tabloid, in Latvian

Television

• Latvian Television (LTV) - public, operates LTV1 and LTV7
• Latvian Independent Television (LNT) - main terrestrial commercial TV
• TV3 Latvia - commercial
• TV6 - commercial

Radio

• Latvian Radio - public; four national networks
• Radio SWH - commercial
• Star FM - commercial
• Radio NABA - public/university
• Radio Skonto - commercial

News agencies

• LETA - English-language pages
• BNS (Baltic News Service)
• Delfi - news portal, in Latvian and Russian