Prague, Feb 9 (CTK) – Journalists from the Visegrad Four (V4) countries, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, expressed fears for media freedom in Central Europe at their meeting in Prague on Tuesday.
They say politicians are striving for taking control of public space, and consequently plurality is disappearing from media.
Representatives of the Czech Syndicate of Journalists and significant dailies and weeklies from the other V4 countries attended the meeting.
“We witness how the media independence is being suppressed and removed by economic and political tools. We share fears for the fate of the public media that face politicians’ effort to take control of them or marginalise them,” the journalists said in their joint declaration released to CTK.
Hungarian journalists criticised the steps by Prime Minister Viktor Orban. They said he he was restricting the papers that did not agree with the government policy.
Polish media representatives challenged the reform of the Polish public media that, they said, were campaigning in support of the cabinet of PM Beata Szydlo.
Central European politicians are inspiring one another in the ways of dominating public space, Slovak journalists said.
“Free, plural and independent media mean an unquestionable control of power in a democratic society. Freedom and democracy cannot survive in our countries without them,” the V4 journalists wrote in their declaration.
The meeting of the V4 countries’ journalists was attended by representatives of the Hungarian Radio Kossut and the Nepszabadsag leftist daily, which was abolished last year, the Polish Gazeta Wyborcza, the Slovak Dennik N daily and Tyzden weekly and the Freedom to Media Czech association. Its 11-member committee includes Syndicate of Journalists President Adam Cerny, lawyer Hana Marvanova, director Bretislav Rychlik and scriptwriter David Smoljak.
