Slovakia: curtains for public broadcaster
The Slovakian government under Prime Minister Robert Fico is planning to dissolve the public broadcaster RTVS as announced, and launch a new media organisation under the name STVR. The reform will be presented to parliament for approval in the summer. Critics accuse the government of wanting to create a propaganda channel.
A black day for media freedom
Pravda takes a critical view of the restructuring:
“The name change from RTVS to STVR, which reinstates the attribute 'Slovakian', is just a detail. The key aspect is the method of electing the director general, which now gives the state a greater say than before, and which will be left in the hands of the three governing parties in the coming years. The minister responsible for the media, Martina Šimkovičová, claims that she will respect European law on media freedom. But the broadcaster's employees probably have their doubts. They turn up at work today [25 April] on this 'black day' dressed in black, or with black ribbons on their lapels.”
Conversion into a government mouthpiece
For Denník N one thing is clear:
“Although there won't be a direct censorship authority as originally planned, the idea essentially remains the same: to turn the public media into a servant of government power. The new broadcaster, which is to go by the name STVR, is to be overseen by a control panel of nine members elected for six years. Three are appointed by the Ministry of Culture, one by the Ministry of Finance and the other five by parliament, where the coalition has a majority. The current RTVS director Ľuboš Machaj will automatically step down as soon as the approved law is published in the Collection of Laws. He had been elected to stay in office until 2027.”