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The ČT Council, which oversees the operation of public television, was dealing with the cancellation of the 168 hours program all Monday afternoon. It took place in a rather tense atmosphere. It was preceded by a demonstration by the association Milion chvilek pro democracy with the central slogan “We monitor Czech television, we will not give journalism”.
CEO Jan Souček, who is currently on vacation, only joined the meeting online. But all the time he questioned the convening of the extraordinary meeting – according to him, the councilors are breaking the law when they deal with the broadcasting program, which they are not allowed to do.
He kept repeating that the last moment he decided to cancel the weekly was the publication of text messages between Fridrichová and her former colleague Mark Wollner. Souček referred to the communication as “lasciful”, “intimate” or even “masturbatory” -inging however having forgotten to add that Wollner introduced obscenities into it.
A long dispute among the councilors revolved around whether Nora Fridrichová, the former moderator and dramaturge of the canceled weekly, who was personally present at the meeting, could also speak at the meeting. Director Souček also rejected this: “You want to turn it into a tribunal.”
Councilors Tomáš Řehák and Milada Richterová demanded that Nora Fridrichová state her opinion and possibly defend herself, but they did not succeed, the majority of councilors prevented it by voting. “I am against turning it into a cooperative court,” said CT Council member Jefim Fištejn.
Read also about the situation in Czech Television:
After all, Nora Fridrichová got the floor at the end of the meeting only at the moment when other representatives of the watching public got the floor. Above all, she resisted the arguments of director Souček. “There was no intimacy or lasciviousness on my part. When you talk about it publicly and repeatedly, it’s not pleasant for me, my throat was tight. I only defended myself against Marko Wollner’s attacks, I had no other choice,” said Fridrichová.
Many of them rejected Director Souček’s objections that it is not up to the councilors to deal with the content of the broadcast. They argued that the unexpected decision to cancel a popular show caused uncertainty among a large part of the public, which is what is happening in the Kavče Horá.
“People are concerned about the independence of television, which we are supposed to control. A petition was even created, the petitioners of which are not afraid of jeopardizing the name of ČT because of lascivious communication, which the CEO keeps talking about, but because the cancellation of the program 168 hours is an order of those who were offended by the program,” said councilor Tomáš Řehák. “If there’s one thing that really threatens the credibility of television, it’s when it becomes dependent on the powerful, whether it’s business or political circles.”
The petition, signed by over 500 signatories, asks the CT Council to investigate the independence of several specific persons. These are mainly politicians and businessmen – for example, billionaires Pavel Tykač and Daniel Křetínský, arms manufacturer Michal Strnad, or politicians Jaroslav Faltýnek and ex-presidents Václav Klaus and Miloš Zeman.
“It is clear from public statements that the new management of CT is trying to put other important journalistic programs under pressure – especially Otázky Václav Moravec or, for example, Reportery CT. At the same time, it is obvious to everyone that these programs are a thorn in the side of various interest, clientelistic or criminal groups. Public television is at risk of being taken over by power, just like in Hungary, Slovakia or, until recently, Poland,” reads the text of the petition. Councilors accepted it and will deal with it next week.
Many of them asked what will replace the weekly 168 hours, but they did not get an answer. Director Souček only stated that the editors are developing four new journalistic programs - and will start one of them on Sunday evenings during the autumn.
And that was the official conclusion of Monday’s council. A narrow majority of the councilors accepted the CEO’s explanation regarding the cancellation of the weekly, and at the same time called on him to inform them about the preparation of the aforementioned new program, which is to replace Nora Fridrichová’s 168 hours.
