Prague, May 16 (CTK) – Over four-fifths of Czechs have no idea of who owns the media or are not interested in this, but the same proportion believe that its independence is a necessity for its functioning, according to a poll conducted by the STEM/MARK institute and released on Tuesday.
Most Czechs also agree with the view that politicians and parties are mostly able to find a way with which to influence the media.
Two-thirds of Czechs are also of the view that media owners have the right to determine their direction and orientation.
One-quarter of Czechs believe that it would be better if foreigners owned the media instead of Czech owners.
Two-thirds of Czechs say the Czech media has no chance of a long existence without strong owners.
Most Czechs say the owners’ pressure undermines the quality and functioning of the media.
Roughly 80 percent say lack of experienced journalists, their poor professional level and little time for work have a negative impact on the media.
Four-fifths of the respondents stress quality of the provided information rather than who writes it.
Some 66 percent said there was not any major difference between the individual dailies in the Czech Republic, when it comes to their focus and political orientation.
Only 40 percent of Czechs believe that in the past years, the quality of content and information in the dailies improved.The remaining 60 percent are of the opposite opinion.
The on-line poll was conducted on 500 Czechs between 15 and 59.
