Controversy has not been far away from the new director of the Czech public tv broadcaster Czech Television (ČT), Petr Dvořák, since his appointment at the end of September. First it emerged he had lied about not ever being a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), then he visited his former boss and friend Czech oligarch, Petr Kellner, just days after appointment, and now he faces allegations by ČT reporters that there have been several cases of interference by the management into investigative reports into sensitive political cases.
“In recent days we here [in ČT] have witnessed the termination or shortening of several sensitive reports,” a ČT editor, who did not want to be named for fear of dismissal, told the daily Mladá fronta dnes (MfD).
Members of the national broadcasters’ news staff say the management moved to block a report by their colleague Jakub Kalenský into controversial South Bohemia politician, Pavel Dlouhý (Civic Democrats, ODS), allegedly being let off a penalty for driving at over 100 kilometers an hour where there was 40 kilometer speed limit. Although the report was eventually aired, ČT news staff say key footage filmed undercover was edited out.
According to ČT staff, the management also blocked the news team from reporting that President Václav Klaus’ pres officers refused to allow ČT journalist Jan Moláček to pose a question to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the press conference during his visit to Prague on November 8, because he refused to guarantee that he would not ask about the disputed Russian parliamentary elections held on December 4.
In another case the management reportedly blocked a report by journalists Pavla Kubálková and Zuzana Tvarůžková into revelations that the deputy High State Prosecutor in the Prague office of the state Prosecution service, Libor Grygárek, was in regular contact with the controversial lobbyist and entrepreneur, Roman Janoušek, who reportedly figures in six investigations currently being overseen by the prosecution service.
Dvořák has resolutely refuted the allegations of interference. “Scandals often arise because the material basis for reports is not good quality and insufficiently verified, but journalists nevertheless try to get them aired,” Dvořák told MfD.
MfD comments that Dvořák’s explanation is difficult to verify or refute. “It’s impossible to judge the dispute without a detailed knowledge of the given reports. However, it is evident that mistrust reigns in the news service. In media outlets orders to conduct further work on reports are quite common. However, they rarely result in complaints about interference into the news content,” the daily commented.
