In Estonia, ETV did not breach ethics after incident involving a guest
In Estonia, ERR media ethics ombudsman Tarmu Tammerk stated that ETV responded appropriately to a guest’s deteriorating health during the live broadcast of the programme “Esimene stuudio” on September 9. In his view, continuing the discussion after the politician was taken out of the studio and handed over to medical personnel was not a violation of journalistic ethics, ERR News reports.
Incident during the debate
The programme featured a defence debate involving representatives of parties in Estonia’s parliament, the Riigikogu. During the broadcast, Kristo Enn Vaga, secretary-general of the Reform Party and a Riigikogu member, felt unwell.
As was visible on air and explained by the programme’s production team, Vaga initially believed that he could continue participating in the discussion. He remained conscious and even raised his hand to speak. When his condition worsened, the politician was quickly taken out of the studio. These moments were not shown to viewers.
Outside the studio, Vaga was given first aid, after which an ambulance took him to hospital for examination. He was released home later that night and is recovering.
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Assessment by the media ethics ombudsman
Tammerk noted that the programme team decided not to interrupt the broadcast because the guest was already under the care of medical personnel. He stressed that such decisions must be made quickly during a live broadcast, based on the information available at the time.
At the same time, the ombudsman acknowledged that the incident affected the programme’s integrity and balance. In his view, a short pause could have given the hosts, discussion participants and viewers time to recover from the event. The editorial team will discuss again whether a break would have been a better decision in a similar situation.
Tammerk added that the guest’s privacy was protected and that the hosts cannot disclose preliminary medical information on air about the exact nature of the health problems.
