Slovakian newspapers protest against press law

The country's major newspapers have appeared with a front page featuring nothing but a joint declaration with the title "The Seven Sins of the Press Law" today in protest at the draft for a new Slovakian press law. The country's journalists and newspaper editors fear that if the law enters force it will leave insufficient leeway for adequate journalistic coverage because the state reserves the right to correct reports and issue warnings. "Today's newspapers, with their blank front pages," Sme editor-in-chief Matúš Kostolný writes in a commentary on page three, "are the last chance to draw attention to the fact that the new press law portends the end of truly free media in Slovakia. Our goal is to seek out the truth and write about it, even if some people don't like it."

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