Abstract
In recent years, the Czech Republic has seen the largest changes in media ownership since the early 1990s. Most striking was the purchase of one of the largest publishing houses <em>Mafra </em>by the tycoon Andrej Babiš in June 2013, followed by the takeover of the Czech branch of <em>Ringier</em> by other Czech businessmen later that year. The first case in particular instigated immense discussion about the economic and ethical crisis facing Czech journalism since Babiš is also a powerful political figure (currently the Minister of Finance). In response, a significant number of leading, well-known journalists left media owned by big business and launched projects of quality or “slow” journalism which had until that point been merely discussed theoretically. This paper—based on the results of the Czech part of the Worlds of Journalism Study project—addresses the shift in the ways journalists perceive their roles and ethical responsibilities before and after the 2013 ownership changes. We also present the manner in which these changes are reflected in emerging media projects. It seems that those journalists not affected by the ownership change tend to view journalism ethics and the ability of journalism to exert power more seriously than before.
Highlights
Speculations that Andrej Babiš, the leader of the political movement ANO 2011 and one of the richest businessmen in the Czech Republic, was interested in purchasing an established publishing house were not rare in 2013
Debate further escalated after the parliamentary elections of that year in which Babiš’s party ANO became the second most powerful political party with Babiš himself appointed as the Minister of Finance
In the example of Mafra publishing house, many journalists publicly expressed their worries about the future of its titles, referring to the plans of the new owner to merge them with his regional titles and to reduce the number of journalists working in the company
Summary
Speculations that Andrej Babiš, the leader of the political movement ANO 2011 and one of the richest businessmen in the Czech Republic, was interested in purchasing an established publishing house were not rare in 2013. Babiš’s activities in the sphere of media were considered part of his broader intention, namely to support his political ambitions. When it was announced in June 2013 that he had purchased one of the largest media companies Mafra, the publisher of quality newspapers Mladá fronta Dnes and Lidové noviny among others, a wild discussion about the freedom of the press in the Czech Republic broke out. According to Darrell West’s Global Billionaires Political Power Index (West, 2014), this development made Babiš the 5th most politically powerful billionaire in the world
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