2019 revealed few bright spots in the media landscape of Current Time’s broadcast zone. The Baltics still top the non-profit Reporters Without Borders’ annual ranking of press freedom in the region, but with concerns raised about Lithuanian security institutions’ newfound ability to shut down media outlets deemed to pose a national security threat. Hopes for independent media Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine have not yet been entirely met, the report found. Meanwhile, the environment for independent media in Russia has become “stifling,” and Belarus, ahead of a 2020 presidential election, showed no sign of relaxing its guard against criticism.