Czech public broadcasters strike against plan to fund them from state budget

Programming cut back on strike day

Staff at Czech Television (CT) and Czech Radio (CRo) are taking part in a one-day strike on Tuesday, 3 November, and most employees and contributors have joined. Bosses were forced to thin out schedules, so stations are airing repeats and music programmes instead of their usual output. The number of news and current affairs programmes has also been reduced. Radio and television could not halt broadcasting altogether, because the law does not allow it, and the broadcasters said audiences will still receive full information in extraordinary situations. Traffic updates continue during the stoppage. Before 8, 12 and 18 o'clock, most public stations carry statements from the initiative 'Publicznie', which launched and backs the Tuesday protest. ORF reported that newsreaders wore black suits and read a strike statement on air.

The bill behind the walkout

The strike targets a government bill that would abolish the licence fee and finance Czech Television and Czech Radio directly from the state budget. ORF describes the government as right-populist and led by billionaire Andrej Babiš, and says it brought the bill into parliament at short notice about a week before the strike. The bill passed its first reading in a vote held at 4:36 am on the night of 23 to 24 October, a time critics have attacked just as harshly as the decision to add the bill to the agenda. Critics say the bill was placed on the agenda unexpectedly, outside the arrangements made by the leadership of the Chamber of Deputies, and they demand that it be withdrawn from parliamentary work. The sources differ on the scale of the cuts: ORF reports reductions of more than 15 percent, tagesschau puts the budget cut at around 15 percent, and TVP Info says the limits could reach 20 percent of current media budgets.

Fears for independence

Protesters argue that the planned change in funding would cost the broadcasters their independence and cut money for programmes aimed at children and young people. Daniel Stach, a television presenter who organises the strike at public broadcasting, said in an interview that what is currently known points to a potential risk to the independence of both broadcasters and to their long-term funding. The strike committee around Stach has promoted the message of independent public media on social media. One symbol of the protest is a newspaper hat modelled on a figure from the opening credits of the Czech children's programme Dobranocka. Student organisations and actors' unions have also joined the strike in solidarity.

Protests and the rally ahead

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Prague over the weekend of the vote, according to tagesschau, and smaller protests followed in other Czech cities in the days after. A rally called by 'Publicznie' is scheduled for 16:36 on Tuesday at Wenceslas Square in central Prague, a time chosen to echo the 4:36 vote. Students from several Czech universities plan to join the strike and reach the demonstration in several independent marches. Demonstrators and the opposition share the concern that politicians could try to influence public broadcasters' coverage, according to tagesschau.