About Us

The Slovak Spectator is Slovakia’s only English-language magazine. It is published monthly by The Rock, s.r.o. publishing house and covers local news, culture and business. The company also publishes three special publications: the Largest in Business  with rankings of the largest companies and comprehensive guides to the investment environment and human resources in Slovakia as well as the acclaimed Spectacular Slovakia (travel guide edition) that appear throughout the year. Another feature of the publishing house is also the biggest online news portal about Slovakia in English. 

Meet the team

Ján Pallo - Publisher
Peter Dlhopolec - Editor-in-chief
Jana Liptáková - Managing editor
Matúš Beňo - Staff writer
Ivana Adžić - Community manager
Katarína Kvanková - Circulation & Sales
Martina Mišíková - Marketing & Sales
Andrea Illéšová - Office assistant  
Igor Kovár - Graphic designer
Peter Malatinec - Graphic designer
Beata Balogová - Special contributor
Nina Hrabovská Francelová - Special contributor
Radka Minarechová - Special contributor
Michaela Terenzani - Special contributor
James Thomson - Special contributor & Copy editor 
Ed Holt - Copy editor
Naomi Hužovičová - Copy editor
Mark Taylor - Copy editor
Francis Mejia - Copy editor

Our History

The Rock s.r.o. was founded in 1995 to fulfill a specific, important role in Slovakia's development as an independent member of the international community. As Slovakia was becoming more widely known in the world, the world was eager for more information about this young state located in Central Europe on the border of East and West. But for someone who does not read or speak Slovak, precious little information is available. Since English is increasingly the language of global communication, it is vital for the world's and Slovakia's understanding of each other that there be an English-language medium to promote this mutual awareness.

The idea for The Slovak Spectator found its roots in late October 1994. Richard Lewis, Daniel J. Stoll and Rick Zedník were working for The Slovak Mirror, an eight-page monthly English-language newspaper that lasted three issues. They believed the Slovak market could support a larger English-language newspaper published more frequently. Along with Eric Koomen, they founded The Rock (publishing house), which was officially registered as a limited liability company (spol. s r.o.) on January 3, 1995. Lewis and Zedník were co-editors, Stoll the business manager and Koomen the financial manager. They decided to start with a 12-page bi-weekly.

The Slovak Spectator's Timeline

February 2023
We start to offer a new type of hybrid subscription - Premium NO ADS.  

January 2023
The Slovak Spectator newspaper is transformed into a magazine format with high-quality content augmented by even more attractive graphics. 

April 2022
In response to the needs of Ukrainian refugees, The Slovak Spectator and Petit Press start a Ukrainian language news portal www.novyny.sk. This webpage provides news on a daily basis for people from Ukraine in Slovakia to help them integrate. 

December 2020
First publication of Largest in Business, a new annual publication that offers rankings of the largest companies and institutions. It follows the tradition of the Book of Lists, which was first published by The Slovak Spectator in 1999. 

October 2017
The Slovak Spectator becomes a monthly newspaper.

January 2016
We start a new column with answers to frequently asked questions for foreigners living in Slovakia. 

December 2015
Spectator College: special edition for high school students in Slovakia who are preparing for their final exams from English with vocabulary exercises as well as a manual for teachers about how to work with the prepared materials.

November 2015
The Slovak Spectator announced for the first time in its annual publication Investment Advisory Guide lists of the largest law firms in Slovakia.

January 2015
The Slovak Spectator becomes a bi-weekly and launches its new website www.spectator.sme.sk.

September 2014
Travel guide Spectacular Slovakia is published for the first time in a 300-page book format with a new modern design. This travel guide covers the whole country, later on we added guides to cities (Bratislava and Nitra) and to regions (Košice, Trenčín, Trnava, Žilina, Tatras). 

April 2014
The Slovak Spectator is awarded the Via Bona Main Award for a Responsible Small or Medium-Sized Enterprise, for its CSR programmes.

March 2013
The Slovak Spectator launches Reporting Diversity programme, which is aimed at training young journalists to report on diversity and minorities within Slovak society. The programme is prepared in cooperation with Comenius University’s School of Journalism and is supported by the US Embassy in Bratislava.

January 2013
The Slovak Spectator starts to publish the special section Spectator College, prepared especially for the secondary school graduates.

October 2012
The Slovak Spectator launches the programme Cooking with Ambassadors in cooperation with TV Sme.

June 2012
The Slovak Spectator launches its specialised business-oriented media highlights service, Business Spectator.

April 2012 
The Slovak Spectator is awarded the Via Bona prize for Socially Responsible Market Impact, in particular for its education project Get Trained and Then Get Published.

February 2012 
The Slovak Spectator joins PIANO, Slovakia’s nationwide pay-wall system for premium online content.

November 2011
The Slovak Spectator, in cooperation with the Petit Academythe Tatra Banka Foundationand Comenius University, launches the Best Media Traditions programme to bring a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist to speak every year before the Slovak public. The programme features a public lecture in the main hall of Comenius University and its live broadcast, workshops with students from different Slovak universities, and meetings with professionals and the academic community with a focus on journalism.

February 2011 
Launch of The Slovak Spectator’s educational project for students Get Trained and Then Get Published, in cooperation with the Journalism Department of Comenius University.

October 2010
The Slovak Spectator, in cooperation with the firm Sugarbooks, launches a new project: Bringing the World to the Classroom focuses on bringing a variety, knowledge and understanding of other cultures to students, and on developing their English-language communication skills. The programme includes the holding of discussions in selected schools with prominent individuals from the international community living in Slovakia (e.g. diplomats, CEOs, foreign journalists, and others).

August 2009
A special supplement is published with The Slovak Spectator weekly as part of the Visegrad Countries Project.

June 2009 
The Slovak Spectator initiates a new specialised service – the Diplomatic Package – with a daily overview of events in Slovakia, combined with weekly analyses covering topical developments in Slovakia.

May 2008
The Slovak Spectator launches its its new sub-site, living.spectator.sk focusing on real estate. The site contains a wide range of properties, user-friendly navigation and extensive photographs, as well as information on different regions of Slovakia, and several articles on the subject of real estate and housing.

December 2007
The Slovak Spectator website (www.spectator.sk) gets a complete redesign, bringing daily updated news and more comprehensive services.

February 2007
The Slovak Spectator launches a project called Na Slovensku po anglicky (In Slovakia in English) that distributes free copies of its weekly to universities across Slovakia.

October 2004
The debut issue of Spex magazine hits newsstands across Slovakia.

July 2003
The Slovak Spectator launches an electronic version of its annual Spectacular Slovakia travel guide magazine. The website (www.spectacularslovakia.sk) becomes a source of tourist information about Slovakia.

December 2002
The Slovak Spectator launches an electronic version of its annual Book of Lists magazine. The website www.greenpages.sk becomes a source of information and contact details for companies and organisations across Slovakia.

May 2001
The Rock, s.r.o. becomes part of the German-Slovak publishing house Petit Press, a.s. as it takes over a 75 percent share of the company.

February 2001
The first issue of Investment Advisory Guide is published.

February 2000
The first issue of Career and Employment Guide is published.

December 1999
The first issue of Book of Lists is published.

October 1999
The first issue of Real Estate and Construction Guide is published.

September 1998
The Slovak Spectator becomes a weekly and launches its website, www.slovakspectator.sk (now www.spectator.sk).

July 1996
The first Spectacular Slovakia travel guide is published with 35 colour photos, six maps, information on 103 hotels, and 34 ads on a total of 11 pages.

March 1, 1995
The debut issue of The Slovak Spectator hits newsstands across Slovakia.

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