Breaking AI & Tech News Analyzed

The Lead Czech public media employees have staged a one-day "warning" strike demanding that the government drop plans to put funding of Czech Television (CT) and Czech Radio (CRo) under direct control. The Event Details The strike, threatened weeks ago, was centred on CT's headquarters in Prague on Monday and followed a large public protest at the same spot the previous day. It was the latest of many rallies warning that the populist government is threatening the independence of the country's much respected public media. The Data Analysis The strikers, civil society groups, and large cohorts of the public, worry that the government led by Prime Minister Andrej Babis is seeking to exert political control over the outlets. The cabinet last week approved a long-threatened switch from a licence fee system to direct financing from the state budget. Under the plan, the outlets would also see a cut in their funding to 2008 levels. The Impact Analysis Critics say the change would give the government power to intervene in broadcasters' work. They point to similar efforts by authoritarian governments in Hungary and Slovakia over recent years. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and other media observers have slammed the move and the potential impact on the state broadcasters. The Prediction Babis insists that his government has no intention to interfere with the independence of the outlets, but he and other senior members of the government – which includes far-right and radical-right figures – have long complained of their liberal outlook and of bias. However, opposition to efforts to suppress the Czech Republic's public media is not new.