Journalists don black clothes on air to protest controversial reform in Slovakia – Important today

Public television journalists in Slovakia staged a symbolic protest against the government by turning up for work wearing black clothes. Their protest is against the Slovak government’s plans to replace the public broadcasting company with a new body, which is due to new concerns about the freedom of the media in the country.

The cabinet of populist Prime Minister Robert Fizzo supported the Ministry of Culture’s proposal to abolish the existing public operator RTVS (Radio and Television of Slovakia). It will be replaced by a new body – Slovak Television and Radio (STVR).

The current director general, who was appointed in 2022, will be removed from his post. His replacement will be chosen by a Council whose members will be appointed by ministers and the Fitzo-controlled parliament.

Fico, who has come under fire in his country for targeting independent media, has repeatedly portrayed RTVS as biased. However, RTVS officials and watchdog groups say the legal changes, which are expected to be approved by the Slovak parliament in the coming weeks, are part of an effort to undermine independent journalism.

The government’s plan is “an unjustified change that contradicts legislative norms,” ​​said Luboš Mahaj, director general of RTVS, quoted by the British newspaper “Guardian”.

He indicated to the publication that he was “particularly concerned about the enormous pressure and interference that could affect all spheres of public radio and television”.

The Minister of Culture of Slovakia, Martina Simkovicova, who is from the quota of the ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party, accused RTVS of “political activism”. According to her, the changes are aimed at correcting the lack of objectivity in the news broadcasts of the public television.

In recent months, she has complained that RTVS does not give space for all opinions to be expressed. Before he became a minister Simkovich herself was a co-host of an online TV channel that promoted pro-Russian narratives and misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccination

In addition to journalists, the new controversial changes caused discontent among opposition parties, and thousands of Slovaks protested in the capital Bratislava. Last month, the European Broadcasting Union warned against the transformation of Slovakian public television into “state-controlled media”.

Simkovicova claims that the draft law is in line with the European Act on Freedom of the Media, which was approved by the European Parliament in March.

Around 1,200 RTVS employees signed a petition against the legal proposals, and a video posted by the journalists on social media said free and independent public media “must serve all citizens of Slovakia, not just the power ambitions of any one party”.

More than 80 thousand people have signed an open letter to the European Commission and the European Parliament in support of an independent RTVS.