The Media Sponsorship Fund has responded to community questions and extended the application period | Culture

The Council has prepared a detailed commentary on Annex 1 of the Rules (Cultural media and culture periodicals program funding conditions) and answers to frequently asked questions regarding the cultural media and culture periodicals program funding conditions and the concept of editorial staff.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the Fund Council’s commentary and answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Comment on Annex 1 of the Rules

The funding conditions of the Cultural Media and Cultural Periodicals Program approved in Annex 1 of the Rules were prepared in the implementation of the priority area of ​​support (program) established in Article 28, Part 16, Point 1 of the Law on Public Information with the same name.

This program has three parts – a general (open) part for funding content projects and two parts for funding cultural periodicals (content projects and activities). The aspect of financing cultural periodicals is already highlighted in the very same in the lawtaking into account the extremely complex situation of cultural periodicals (economic conditions, advertising market, competitive environment, audience specifics).

Cultural periodical – a publication of which at least 80% content is intended to describe cultural or artistic phenomena, to evaluate them professionally, to analyze and inform regarding cultural events in Lithuania and the world, to spread artistic creativity (see Article 28, Article 16, Paragraph 1 of the Public Information Law).

Periodical – a continuous publication of the same name, with new content, numbered or dated, published at least twice per calendar year (see Article 2, Article 36 of the Law on Public Information).

Publication – electronic or printed media containing public information (see Article 2, Article 24 of the Law on Public Information).

Funding conditions for projects of cultural periodicals
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• Applicants can be public information producers and/or disseminators who meet the requirements set out in clauses 19.1–19.14 of the Rules and publish cultural periodicals that meet the conditions listed below:
• publication circulation ≥ 500 copies.
• average monthly audience of the website (number of unique visitors) ≥ 3000

Why are there different funding conditions for projects and activities of cultural periodicals?

Two parts of the funding conditions of the Cultural Media and Cultural Periodicals Program are intended for the financing of cultural periodicals (content projects and activities) due to the difficult situation of the publishers of these publications. This was responded to by acceptance Amendments to the Law on Public Information. An applicant who meets the requirements of the Rules, i.e. the publisher of a cultural periodical, in these parts of the program has the opportunity to choose and submit an application for (1) a content project, (2) an activity or (3) a content project and an activity (see the comment on point 22 of the Rules regarding more than one application provision in one program). In these parts of the program, competitions are held only between publishers of cultural periodicals.

Why are the conditions for the funding of cultural periodicals – both projects and activities – set the requirements for the circulation and average audience of the website? How will these requirements be applied in practice?

According to the Law on Public Information, a cultural periodical can be published both in printed and electronic form. Therefore, in the financing conditions of cultural periodicals, the requirements for circulation (more than 500 copies in the case of project financing and more than 750 copies in the case of activity financing) are applicable only to printed cultural periodicals, and the requirements for the average audience of the website (more than 3,000 unique visitors in the case of project financing and more than 5,000 unique visitors in the case of activity financing) – only for the website where e-mail is published. cultural periodical published in the form

The mentioned conditions are not mutually exclusive. There is no requirement for the website of a physically printed cultural periodical or another website where, in accordance with the requirements set out in point 87 of the Rules, the dissemination of the content project will be ensured, to meet the minimum number of visitors specified in the financing conditions. And vice versa – the rules do not require that e-mails are distributed on the website (or by other electronic means). the cultural periodical would additionally be printed in the circulation specified in the funding conditions.

Both printed and electronic the data of the cultural periodical distributed in the form must be submitted to the information system of the producers and disseminators of public information (TOP). email the ISSN of a cultural periodical cannot coincide with a cultural periodical published in printed form. For more information on ISSN, see Martynas Mažvydas National Libraries of Lithuania on the website.

To which part of the program can an applicant who manages a website covering cultural topics apply?

There is a difference between a website and an e-mail. cultural periodical. Therefore, an applicant who manages a website covering cultural topics can apply only to the general (open) part of the program in accordance with the conditions of financing cultural projects in the media.

However, if the applicant also distributes e-mail on the specified website. cultural periodical, he can also apply for this publication to the part of the program dedicated to the financing of cultural periodicals (projects or activities). It should be noted that e. a cultural periodical must have an issued ISSN, which cannot coincide with a cultural periodical published in printed form. Additionally, regarding e-mail requirements applicable to cultural periodicals, see the answer to the 2nd question.

Regarding the number of editorial staff/number of full-time editorial staff

In the appendices of the rules for submitting projects financed by the Media Support Fund, a condition for applicants is the number of editorial staff/number of full-time editorial staff. It is indicated in the footnotes that the editorial staff (whose start of state social insurance is reported to VSDFV) who worked on the last day of the previous quarter are counted.

We explain that a full-time position is a contractual unit used to measure the workload of an employee or how long a person works. 1 full-time position equals 8 working hours per day, 40 hours per week. This contractual unit measures human workload.

Part-time work is often referred to as part-time work, meaning less than 40 hours per week. If you work 20 hours a week, this is half the working time norm. It is also possible to work part-time or less. If the employer and the employee agree, working hours can be set in a variety of ways, as there is no minimum number of working hours set by law.

In view of the above, we clarify that the number of employees of the editorial office may include employees (whose notification of the start of state social insurance has been submitted to VSDFV) who worked on the last day of the previous quarter, regardless of the size of the full-time position.

Regarding the equating of heads and members of small associations to editorial staff/full-time editorial staff

Part 1 of Article 101 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Lithuania stipulates that an employment contract must be concluded with the one-person management body of a legal entity – a natural person working for remuneration, with the exception of managers of small partnerships and individual companies. Such a contract can also be concluded for part-time work.

Article 7, Part 4 of the Law on Small Partnerships of the Republic of Lithuania stipulates that a member of a small partnership may enter into civil contracts with the small partnership regarding the provision of services and/or the performance of works for the small partnership, with the exception of contracts with signs of labor relations.

Since there is a special legal regulation for small associations – a civil service contract is not concluded with the member and manager of the small association, in this case the member or manager of the small association would be considered an editorial employee/full-time editorial employee.

Regarding equating the head of an individual company with an editorial employee/full-time editorial employee

Part 1 of Article 101 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Lithuania stipulates that an employment contract must be concluded with the one-person management body of a legal entity – a natural person working for remuneration, with the exception of managers of small partnerships and individual companies. Such a contract can also be concluded for part-time work.

Article 7 d. 1 of the Law on Individual Companies of the Republic of Lithuania. it is stipulated that an individual company has a single management body – the head of the individual company. The owner of an individual company is also the individual management body of the individual company – the head of the company, unless the regulations of the individual company stipulate otherwise.

3 of this article. it is provided that the owner of an individual company can appoint another person as the manager of the individual company, if this is stipulated in the regulations of the individual company, 4 d. provided that when the owner of an individual company appoints another person as the head of the individual company, an employment or civil contract is concluded with the head of the individual company.

In view of the above, we clarify that the owner of an individual company, who is the sole management body of an individual company – the head of the company, would be considered an editorial employee/full-time editorial employee. Also in this case, the head of an individual company, with whom the individual company concluded a civil contract rather than an employment contract, would be considered an editorial employee/full-time editorial employee.

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