A Free Press Is The Heartbeat Of A Country

Michael Hedges April 26, 2018 - Follow on Twitter

Press and media freedom are not abstractions. The gains are genuine for leaders, institutions and the public informed directly. The loss is destructive; confidence shed, reality twisted. And, too, people die.

In Central Eastern Europe there is the Visegrad Four - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Two of the four members of the loose-knit group - Hungary and Poland - have long been on the watch list of press/media freedom advocates. In this year’s Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) Press Freedom Index and analysis, the Czech Republic and Slovakia received warnings.

Edging downward another year, the RSF index ranked Hungary 73rd in the world and labeled the country’s press freedom status as “problematic.” At the beginning of the decade RSF ranked Hungary 23rd. Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his recently re-elected far-right nationalist Fidesz political party has harvested the strength of billionaires and cronies to effectively back critical news media into a corner. Foreign investors, exceptions numbered on one hand, are being “expelled.”

“Two media bubbles co-exist in Hungary,” said the RSF report. “One, created by pro-government and pro-Fidesz media outlets is obsessed with migration, the ‘defence of Hungary and its borders’ and its hate campaign against the Hungarian-American billionaire philanthropist George Soros. The other is focused on finding corruption scandals.”

The RSF ranking for Poland fell a further four places to 58th, to the surprise of nobody. The Law and Justice (PiS) party, which came to power in 2015, is “pushing on with its plan to radically reform Poland as it sees fit, taking no account of those who think differently,” said the RSF report. “Press freedom is one of its project’s main victims.” Public radio and television broadcasters “have been transformed into government propaganda mouthpieces. Their new leaders tolerate neither opposition nor neutrality from employees and fire those who refuse to comply.”

The report notes that media regulator KRRiT imposed a PLN1.48 million fine (€350,000) last December on news channel TVN24 for coverage of opposition protests. The channels’ license was also threatened. The punishments were eventually dismissed over the objection of board member Janusz Kawecki, a frequent commentator on ultra-conservative Radio Maryja. TVN24, through TVN Group, is owned by Discovery Communications. PiS officials continue to call for the “re-polanization” of privately-held media outlets. The RSF report’s section on Poland is subtitled “Blinded by ideology.”

The Czech Republic was hit hardest in the RSF Press Freedom Index within the Visegrad Four, falling 11 places to 34th. The accompanying report cites President Milos Zeman “brandished a dummy Kalashnikov inscribed with the word ‘journalists’ at a press conference, after previously calling journalists ‘manure’ and ‘hyenas’ and suggesting they should be ‘liquidated’ while standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin.” On the occasion of his second inauguration as the nation’s president, he caused gasps by calling out journalists working for business daily Economia and others because of owner Zdenek Bakala. RSF mentioned draft legislation in front of the Czech parliament to restore defamation of the president to a criminal offence. President Zeman has threatened journalists and publishers with lawsuits.

Czech billionaires’ - “oligarchs” - influence on the media has grown in the last decade, said the report, including current prime minister Andrej Babis owning newspapers and several online news portals.

Slovakia’s ranking fell to 27th from 17th in 2017, largely - but not entirely - on the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak, which “triggered an unprecedented political earthquake in Slovakia and sent shockwaves through the international community.” He had been researching high-level corruption when gunned down with his fiancee in February. The outrage led to several government officials “stepping down,” including prime minister Robert Fico. Also unsolved are the disappearances of two other Slovak journalists.

Slovak politicians regularly use defamation laws to intimidate and sue journalists and publishers. RSF noted Mr. Fico’s reference last year to journalists as “filthy anti-Slovak prostitutes.” Citing both Mr. Fico and the aforementioned Mr. Zeman, the RSF noted that “political leaders are increasingly the source of the verbal attacks and harassment that create a hostile climate for journalists.”

“The change is not like an elevated cholesterol level,” wrote SME chief editor Beata Balogová in a commentary (April 25) on the RSF press freedom index. “It is a heart attack. It is a reliable red line that, if the country goes beyond it, cannot proceed without a fundamental remedy.”

“Robert Fico and those around him tried to separate the execution of Jan Kuciak from the atmosphere in the society they co-created. Politicians have not gone as far as (Hungarian president) Viktor Orbán in his crusade against critical journalistic. It is a fair warning for us. What about the heartbeat of the country?”

See also... in ftm Knowledge

Press/Media Freedom - Challenges and Concerns

Press and media freedom worldwide is facing challenges from many corners. As authoritarian leaders impose strict control over traditional and new media with impunity, media watchers have concerns for democracy. This ftm Knowledge file accounts the troubles of this difficult decade. 88 pages. PDF (December 2011)

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