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15min

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

15min(Lithuanian:Penkiolika minučių) is one of the largest news websites inLithuania,attracting over one million unique users per month.[1]JSC "15min" is owned by the Lithuanian company "4 Bees," which is owned by Tomas Balžekas, Martynas Basokas, Gabrielė Burbienė, and Tomas Bindokas.

15min
IndustryNews media
Key people
Tomas Balžekas
CEO
Revenue€5.221 million (2022)[2]
Parent4 Bees
Websitewww.15min.lt

History

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Old logo of 15min
15min headquarters in Vilnius

Founded on 1 September 2005,15minstarted as adaily newspaperdistributed freely acrossVilnius,Kaunas,andKlaipėdathrough various channels, including in public transport, streets, and some cafés. Seven months later, the Norwegian media conglomerateSchibstedacquired the company overseeing its operations.

On 7 August 2008, the company expanded its reach by launching the online news portal15min.lt.The frequency of publication was reduced to three times per week as of Autumn 2009.[3]In December 2011, the publication transitioned into a weekly newspaper obtainable in seven Lithuanian cities.[4][5]Additionally, it launched a subscription delivery in April 2012.[6]

In June 2013, the newspaper underwent a substantial transitional shift. A strategic decision was made to completely discontinue the printed publication and commit exclusively todigital publishing.[3]In September, Schibsted decided toexitthe Baltic market. Consequently, theEesti Meedia,the parent company of the15min,was sold to thesenior management..[7]

15minbegan functioning without an editor-in-chief in April 2015, entrusting department heads and editors with more managerial responsibility.[8]Known for itsinvestigative journalism,it was an official partner of the investigation team that verified and published thePanama Paperson 3 April 2016.[9][10][11][12]That same month15minupdated the portal and the next month it disabled anonymous comments.[13]At the same time it also introduced apaywalltoad-blockers,thus partially charging for content.[14]

Under a partnership agreement active until 2017,15mincarried pieces from other brands of theŽurnalų leidybos grupėssuch asŽmonės.After that it replaced them with sections such as "Life," "Food," and "Names."[15]

On December 16, 2019, a paid content subscription service was launched, initially named "15MAX" and later rebranded as "15min subscription."

On September 25, 2020, the workers union "Independent 15min Editorial Staff" was formed, and the journalists from the Investigative Department resigned from their positions.

In 2021, it was announced that JSC "15min" would merge with JSC "Media Bitės". Upon completion of the merger, the "15min Group" became the owner of the news portal "15min," the news agency BNS, and the magazine "Žmonės."

In April 2021, it was reported that "15min," BNS, and "Media Bitės" were merging. After receiving approval from the Competition Council, the "15min Group" began operations in Lithuania. In this new structure, 60% is owned by AS "Postimees Grupp" and 40% by "4 Bees", which is owned by T. Balžekas, M. Basokas, G. Burbienė, and T. Bindokas. Following the merger, the businesses that belonged to "Media Bitės" became part of JSC "15min."

In December 2023, "4 Bees" acquired 60% of JSC "15min" and 100% of its subsidiary UAB "BNS" shares from AS "Postimees Grupp". "4 Bees" became the sole owner of 100 % of the shares.

On July 1, 2024, it was announced that JSC "15min" had signed an agreement to acquire radio stations owned by "M-1," and on July 31, it was announced that the acquisition deal was completed.

Leaders

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Managers

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  • 2005–2017 Tomas Balžekas;
  • 2017–2021 Ramūnas Šaučikovas;
  • 2021 Donatas Večerskis;
  • 2021–present Tomas Balžekas.

Editors-in-Chief

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  • 2008–2010 Žilvinas Pekarskas;
  • 2011 Liudas Dapkus;
  • 2012–2015Rimvydas Valatka;
  • 2015–2017none
  • 2017–2021 Raimundas Celencevičius;
  • 2021–present Vaidotas Beniušis

References

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  1. ^"gemiusAudience: rugpjūčio mėnesio apžvalga".Gemius Baltic(in Lithuanian).Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2023.Retrieved18 December2023.
  2. ^"15Min, UAB revenue, profit",www.rekvizitai.lt
  3. ^ab"„15min" nutraukia popierinio savaitraščio leidybą ".Delfi(in Lithuanian). 27 June 2013.Retrieved24 December2023.
  4. ^"Laikraštis „15 min" taps savaitraščiu, bus atleista dalis darbuotojų "(in Lithuanian). Archived fromthe originalon 7 January 2012.
  5. ^"Verslas".www.tv3.lt(in Lithuanian).Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2023.Retrieved18 December2023.
  6. ^"Populiariausią miestų laikraštį „15min" jau galima prenumeruoti ".15min(in Lithuanian). 20 April 2012.Retrieved24 December2023.
  7. ^Aukštuolytė, Rima."„Schibsted" Baltijos žiniasklaidos verslą parduoda estams už 30 mln. EUR ".vz.lt(in Lithuanian).Archivedfrom the original on 25 July 2016.Retrieved18 December2023.
  8. ^"Atsinaujinusi 15min komanda: kas mes esame ir kaip nuo šiol dirbame".15min.lt(in Lithuanian).Archivedfrom the original on 10 May 2016.Retrieved18 December2023.
  9. ^"Media Partners: Panama Papers".27 January 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2023.Retrieved18 December2023.
  10. ^"The Panama Papers".MIT - Docubase.Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2023.Retrieved18 December2023.
  11. ^Tribune, the Lithuania (10 August 2016)."2 individuals and 7 companies in Lithuania under investigation after Panama Papers leak".the Lithuania Tribune.Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2023.Retrieved18 December2023.
  12. ^"Counting the Panama Papers money: how we reached $1.24 billion - ICIJ".15 July 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2023.Retrieved18 December2023.
  13. ^"„Interneto higienos" judėjimas: kaip šią 15min idėją vertina garsūs žmonės ".15min.lt(in Lithuanian). 2 May 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2023.Retrieved18 December2023.
  14. ^Balčiūnienė, Rūta."Naujas žingsnis: „15min" be reklamos – 1 Eur per mėnesį ".vz.lt(in Lithuanian).Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2023.Retrieved18 December2023.
  15. ^Balčiūnienė, Rūta."Skiriasi „15min" ir „Žurnalų leidybos grupė "".vz.lt(in Lithuanian).Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2023.Retrieved18 December2023.
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