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| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Compact |
| Owner(s) | Edgars Kots |
| Publisher | Dienas mediji, Ltd |
| Editor-in-chief | Gatis Madžiņš |
| Founded | 23 November 1990 |
| Language | Latvian |
| Headquarters | Riga,Latvia |
| Circulation | 17,500 (2024) |
| Website | www.diena.lv |
Diena (The Day) is aLatvian language national dailynewspaper inLatvia, published since 23 November 1990. It is one of Latvia's largest daily periodicals and used to be considered as apaper of record.[1]
The newspaper was initially founded as the official paper of theSupreme Council of the Republic of Latvia. Since privatisation in 1993, Diena was owned by Swedish media groupBonnier. Diena had 18,277 subscribers in December 2009, down from 26,866 in February 2009, and 41,471 in April 2000.[2] It shifted fromberliner tocompact format in 2007. The newspaper'sRussian language edition was discontinued in 2000.[citation needed]
In 2002, the publisher was fined for articles published in 1998 and criticizing then-minister for economy Laimonis Strujevičs. In 2007, theEuropean Court of Human Rights held the fine to be in violation of freedom of expression.[3]
In 2009,AS Diena together with its sister business daily Dienas Bizness was sold to an ambiguous investor group owned by Jonathan andDavid Rowland.[4] The Latvian businessmanViesturs Koziols 6 August 2010 acquired a 51% stake in the joint-stock company Diena.[5] However, an investigation by the LatvianCorruption Prevention and Combating Bureau into the "Oligarchs Case" determined in 2011 that the paper in reality was owned by three Latvian oligarchs:Andris Šķēle,Aivars Lembergs andAinārs Šlesers through theAS Rīgas tirdzniecības osta (JSC Riga Commercial Port, RTO – renamedAS Riga Port in 2022) company. This was further confirmed with the release of the notorious "Rīdzene Tapes [lv]" in 2017, in which the oligarchs are heard discussing their takeover of the paper.[6][7] RTO ultimately sold the paper in 2015.
Following the change of ownership, many of the newspaper's staff resigned in October 2009. They started the online paperCita Diena, which was transformed into the weekly newspaperIr in 2010.[8]
After long-time chief editorSarmīte Ēlerte left the paper in 2008, it experienced a frequent change of leadership from 2009 to 2013. These included editors Ilmārs Znotiņš,Juris Bojārs [lv] and sociologistAigars Freimanis [lv]. On May 10, 2013,Gatis Madžiņš [lv] became the incumbent chief editor of the newspaper.[9]
The owner of the paper since 2015 is formerLatvijas Televīzija headEdgars Kots [lv].
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