Falling Into The News Hole And Finding Nothing
Michael Hedges November 9, 2018 - Follow on Twitter
Once upon a time, news was about reporting who, where, what, when and why. Actually, that has not changed, post-modernisms notwithstanding. Some, though, are confused, perhaps by all speech sounding about the same, except when it’s louder. Or crazier. There is a point when viewers turn it off.
 In October, Czech broadcaster TV Barrandov announced it would be returning an evening news program. “If the classic TV news is boring, don’t miss the new news show moderated by Jaromir Soukup.” said the statement, quoted by iDNES (October 25). "No long explanations, but perspective and extra large portions of irony. This will be the new intelligent program.” This “news” program - called My News (Moje Zpravy) - was added, it seems, under a license requirement from Radio and Television Broadcasting Council (RRTV). National broadcasters must air “daily news summaries several times a day.”
Mr. Soukup is principal owner and chief executive of TV Barrandov, on which he fronts several talk shows, ten at last count. He acquired through publisher Empresa Media Barrandov Television Studio in 2012 from an investor group that included Moravia Steel. TV Barrandov launched in 2009 by the historic Czech production house Barrandov Studios, known for a slew of critically acclaimed feature films. Currently, TV Barrandov and Barrandov Studios are no longer related.
Earlier the company said it was in compliance with the news requirement. "The news format, as it was set, is fulfilled by the fact that there are discussion shows,” said Empresa Media executive director Daniel Köppl, quoted by public TV news channel CT24 (September 9).
Shows hosted by Mr. Soukup feature a mix of guests; local celebrities and politicians. Far-right Czech president Milos Zeman is a regular who recently used “a rude vulgarism” to describe Syrian refugees, said news portal echo24.cz (November 2). The RRTV receives regular complaints. Mr. Soukup said he opposes "slogans such as liberalism, freedom, peace, love, soy latte and humanism.”
At the annual Czech Film and Television Association Trilobit festival in January Mr. Soukup was awarded the Golden Lemon (Zlaty Citron) for his TV shows, referred to as “a bizarre cocktail of dilettantism and political activism.”
Czech viewers have wide choices in television news. The TV Nova evening news program Televizni Noviny is the most watched according to the national ATO-Nielsen Admosphere audience estimates. Czech public television (Ceske Televise) offers all-news channel CT24 and main evening news program Události (Events) on CT1. TV Prima offered evening news program Zprávy FTV Prima, rebranded in July as Velké Zpravy (Big News) with duration extended to 45 minutes . And, then, there was the TV Barrandov show Nase Zprávy, now replaced by another talkshow.
For the first half of this year, reported media news portal mediaguru.cz (July 25) both CT24 and the Události program showed audience increases over the previous year. Market leader Televizni Noviny (TV Nova) was lower about 8% one year on, Zprávy FTV Prima was off 3.5% and the TV Barrandov show was down 18.5%. TV Nova is owned by Central European Media Enterprises (CME) and TV Prima is principally owned by GES Media Europe.
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