Striking Czech Television journalists and their allies organized a mass protest today, pledging to mobilize thousands to pressure the government to fire managers at state-run television for alleged political bias. The protests, planned for late afternoon in Prague’s Wenceslas Square, follows political leaders’ failure to end the standoff between Czech Television director Jiri Hodac and the journalists. A committee named by the parliament appointed Hodac last month. Czech Television’s journalists began protesting the appointment on December 20, claiming that Hodac’s tie to the former prime minister, Václav Klaus, would compromise the station’s journalistic integrity. Thousands of Czech citizens have rallied to support the journalists. More than 120,000 have signed a petition backing their demonstrations. As the journalists’ protest continues, pressure on the government to act is increasing. The upper chamber of the Czech parliament was scheduled to convene an emergency session later today to discuss the crisis. More than 40 journalists have occupied the station, sleeping there since Christmas Eve, protesting both the hiring of an internal staffer to be the general manager and also the bannings of other staff at the station.
Czech Journalists Organize Mass Protest Against Managers at State-Run TV
HeadlineJan 03, 2001