Evolution of the Media Law
in the Czech Republic
Monika Hanych
Monika.Hanych@law.muni.cz
11th October 2016
Czech journalism during 20th & 21st century
1918-1938: following the
journalistic tradition
1945-1989: communist journalism
& samizdat
1990-now: democratic journalism
During the communism
• only state approved media could inform
• content carefully controlled by communist commitee
• distribution of paper as a way to influence the press release
• educational, persuasive and propagandist dimension of media
• Czechoslovak radio & Czech Press Office = state property
During the communism
• Act no. 184/1950 on magazines´ publishing
and the Union of Czechoslovak journalists:
„The mission of the press is to
assist efforts and struggle of the
Czechoslovak people for peace and
to cooperate on his upbringing
toward socialism“
During the communism / 1968
• stricter rules
• newly founded Czech Office for press and information
• notices to media which topics should be covered more or
which should not be published at all
• Marxism-Leninism set as new leading principle for culture
and education
During the communism / samizdat
• producing censored and underground publications by hand
and passing the documents from reader to reader
• high(er) quality journalism
• intensified especially during the 80s
• in 1987 first samizdat newspapers Lidové noviny orientated
on humanistic and democratic journalism released
Transformation process in 90s / new challenges
• no existing tradition:
 communist journalists discredited
 new and free media born with no experience
 no publishing strategy
 no valid journalistic education
• everything allowed to publish - period of enthusiasm and vivid activism
• no applicable regulation
• media transformation according the democratic principles
• only newspaper explicitly connected to a political party till nowadays: Haló noviny
Transformation process in 90s / legal background
• communist press act from 1966 in force until 2000
– but political statements deleted in 1990
• new Press Act (2000) designed according to the international treaties
 freedom of expression and information
 freedom to hold opinions and to share the information or thoughts
 no state interventions
 principle of press evidence instead of authorization principle
Transformation process in 90s
/ professionalism & ownership
• came quickly during 90s
• praxis from the Western
countries
• foreign investment
to the media
1990 and later on
• joy of numerous newspapers
celebrating freedom of
speech quickly vanished
with shocks, traumas
and frustration
• print media facing
the internet
and digital media
Czech media nowadays / ownership
• “oligarchization” of the media
• ownership nowadays: Zdeněk Bakala, Andrej Babiš, Daniel
Křetínský & Patrik Tkáč (= businessmen, one politician)
• content set by powerful people
The future?
• respect to freedom of expression of citizens – or more restrictions?
(e.g.freedom of expression vs. national security; new dillemas ahead)
• protection of independent and critical reporting by journalists & NGOs
• access to information and transparency
• new kinds of transformation - audiovisual, technological, mixed content,
converging viewers (consumers), illegal downloading…
• revision of AVMSD on the European level
 to avoid undue media concentrations
 to compensate for market failures
 to ensure legal framework and conditions and funding for PSM
 to clearly label the content (protection of minors…)
Thank you for your attention!