The Czech government’s draft law on changing the financing of public media opens up space for external pressure or the weakening of editorial autonomy instead of strengthening their stability and credibility, Czech Television (ČT) and Czech Radio (ČRo) said in a joint statement on Monday. According to them, the proposal does not bring a well-thought-out concept, but many ambiguities, informs the reporter of TASR in Prague.
- Czech Television and Czech Radio warn against the weakening of editorial autonomy by law.
- The proposed legislation abolishes the current establishment of media without clear continuity of their existence.
- Funding from donations and grants, according to the media, will allow donors to influence broadcasting.
ČT and ČRo consider the greatest shortcomings of the proposed legislation to be the fact that it cancels the existing legal establishment of both media without, in their words, convincingly ensuring the continuity of their existence, rights, obligations and internal rules. In addition, according to them, for example, it relegates journalism to the background, weakens editorial autonomy and opens up space for the influence of power and interest groups on the content of broadcasts.
Funding from donations
According to them, this could happen based on the possibility of financing public service media from donations, grants and contributions from third parties, so that part of their financing could depend, for example, on companies, municipalities or other donors. “Such a provision opens up the possibility of donors influencing the broadcast content. Therefore, public service media should not rely on donors and fundraising, but on fixed, transparent and predictable financing,” noted ČT and CRo.
In a joint statement, they also criticized the guarantees of independence, which they consider insufficient. According to them, the proposal defines independence in a confusing and ambiguous way and ignores other undesirable effects. “Thus, it opens up space for indirect influence on broadcasting from the state, executive power, local government, politicians and other powerful or commercial entities and groups,” they pointed out.
Legislative deficiencies
In addition, according to them, the proposal has legislative shortcomings and does not reach the quality of the current legislation. “The government’s draft law on public service media does not bring a well-thought-out concept or a declared modernization, but many ambiguities in the elementary questions of the establishment, functioning and status of public service media,” ČT and CRo emphasized, noting that it is an intervention in the basic principles of stable and predictable functioning of public media.
Last week, the Minister of Culture Oto Klempíř presented a draft of the legislation by which he wants to cancel concessionaire fees from next year and finance public service media with a specific amount from the state budget. According to this proposal, both media would receive less money for their activities in 2027 than they will receive from concession fees this year.
The government rejects the criticism
The government denies that its proposal would threaten the independence of public service media or democracy in the Czech Republic, as the opposition claims, for example. The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Andrej Babiš, repeatedly called it nonsense.
