Archive of articles - April 2010, page 6
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Carrying good media traditions forward
We live in times when the power and mission of print media is being very intensively debated; we pursue the gigantic challenge of how to effectively combine online and print reporting while ensuring that the good old newsprint version – with its feel, smell and even smudges of ink that often mark readers’ fingers after leafing through its pages – survive.
Advancing from fighters to journalists
Daunting libel suits against the press, with Slovak courts awarding disproportionate sums to state officials for so-called moral damages; a new and more restrictive press code; tighter economic pressure on the necks of publishers; commercial pressures to trivialise media content; and a lack of high-level media training for the young generation of journalists: these are part of the full basket of challenges that Slovak media face today – two decades after the Velvet Revolution. But with journalists growing more independent from state power over these decades, with some publications having strong ties to established foreign media groups, and with Slovak news outlets gradually adjusting to new forms of media, the leaders and professionals of the country’s media are more prepared to face these challenges today. So say those who keep their fingers on the pulse of the domestic media.
What distinguished readers say about TSS
“The free press plays an integral part in protecting the public interest in any democracy and all members of society have a responsibility to protect that interest by supporting the outlets they trust with their patronage. The Slovak Spectator provides a valuable service by keeping non-Slovak speaking residents in Slovakia abreast of local happenings and politics.”Keith A. Eddins Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy
Feeling the weight of our words
A watchdog to keep the powerful within proper bounds, the ‘truth business’, scribomania with a moral dimension, the fifth estate – these are just to a few of the roles and names given to the business that The Slovak Spectator entered 15 years ago.
Keeping watchdog journalism on guard
Media watchdogs never want to sit under the table of politicians and just wait for whatever scraps of information those in power might be willing to toss them. Fierce independence, freedom to dig deeply for the truth like a dog after a buried bone, and protection from political interference in their work are three principles that journalists cherish. But Slovakia’s media in 2010 are also facing significant economic challenges from the global downturn and have tough decisions to make about how to mesh print and online news reporting; they require a strategy to fend off politically-based libel suits and must prepare a new generation of journalists who will continue to uphold the finest traditions and principles of watchdog journalism.
Slovakia, you have much to be proud of
In a recent moment of nostalgia, I leafed through Lonely Planet’s first guidebook to the independent “Czech & Slovak Republics”. Published in February 1995, it hit shelves only days before The Slovak Spectator’s debut issue did. To turn the pages of that pioneering edition now is an amusing exercise in historical irony.
Fulmek: We need a signal from foreigners
The Slovak Spectator (TSS): What possessed you 10 years ago to buy an English-language weekly? Alexej Fulmek (AF): It’s not that it occurred to me, but that we were approached by the founders of The Slovak Spectator in 1999 or 2000, at a time when they all wanted to leave Slovakia and were looking for someone to invest in the newspaper. For us it was less an investment opportunity than a chance to own an English-language newspaper that produced quality journalism and that reported on events in Slovakia through the prism of values that were similar to those of the Sme daily. Those were the reasons we wanted to keep the newspaper on the market. If we hadn’t bought the paper it probably would have folded.
The Slovak Spectator family album
Foreigners seeking adventure in a post-communist country; young journalism students and graduates wanting to get in touch with the English-speaking world; experienced writers; visionaries hoping to help Slovakia on its way to becoming a free country.
When courts fail, media deliver justice
Back in simpler times, back in the 1980s, we were taught that age determines politics. As one teacher put it, if you’re not a socialist in your twenties you have no heart, and if you’re not a conservative in your forties you have no brain.
Finding the obscure and unique in Slovakia
Every week in the New York Times, the “About New York” column introduces readers to an under-reported or unrepresented character, place, building or incident from arguably the most vibrant five boroughs in the United States. Since the column’s inception, the focus has been on the obscure and unique, those specific wonders living in New Yorkers’ midst, who richen the flavour of the city but who can pass by unnoticed. The column’s most celebrated writers have been those who relish the unknown and dive off the beaten track to find the special and the spectacular where it is least expected.
Spectator journey
From Banská Bystrica, the road makes two long curves before opening up into the wide-open Hron River valley. The Low Tatras come into focus now, snow covering the high peaks well into May. It was here in the hills of central Slovakia where the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) found its resistance to Nazi occupation. Monuments sprinkle the countryside, concrete statues constructed by the communists to remember the heroes of World War II and the coming of the Soviet socialist age. Names of Slovaks who died are etched in the stone, names fading from memory in 2010.
Korean scholarships offered
Three full scholarships are available for Master’s and Doctorate study by Slovak students, preferably to students who have are now finishing their Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees. The required languages are Korean or English and the study itself is preceded by a one-year course on the Korean language. Interested students should send a scholarship application before April 27, a CV, a motivational explanation and photocopies of recommendation letters in Slovak and Korean and the application form and other information in English to the Korean Embassy in Bratislava. The application is best consulted with the Slovak Academic Information Agency and sent by mail before April 26.
Slovak PM Fico again warns against return of a rightist government
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned at an April 20 news conference at the Cabinet Office against possible formation of a government comprised of five rightist parties. “We are rational politicians and we must also admit the [potential] alternative that based on certain results, voters will make such decision,” he said as quoted by the SITA newswire.
New poll shows SMK, Most-Híd, and SaS failing to make it to Slovak Parliament
If the parliamentary elections had taken place in March, five political parties would make it to parliament, the TASR newswire reported. The poll of elections preferences completed by the MEDIAN SK agency between March 1 and 28 showed that neither the Freedom and Solidarity party (SaS) at 4.3 percent, the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) at 3.9 percent, nor Most-Híd party at 2.3 percent would make it over the 5 percent threshold.
Peugeot's eco-friendly electric car is presented in downtown Bratislava
Peugeot presented a prototype of its electric car – the BB1 – in downtown Bratislava on April 19, the TASR newswire was told on that day. The urban concept model, unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2009, has attracted a great deal of attention worldwide. According to Peugeot Slovakia director Guillame Ducrest, serial production of the new car is expected to be launched in 2012-13. The environmentally-friendly vehicle, 2.5 metres long and 1.54 metres high, seats four and has a maximum speed of 90 kilometres per hour. With a full battery, it can travel a distance of 120 kilometres.
Orange plans to test 4G network in Banská Bystrica
Telecommunications operator Orange Slovensko plans tests of the LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology and the Telecommunications Office (TÚ) in Banská Bystrica has issued a six-month permit for the operator that is effective for the beginning of next year for the locality of Banská Bystrica, the SITA newswire wrote.
Unemployment falls in Slovakia in March but remains at high level
Following several months of increases, the unemployment rate in Slovakia dropped by 0.09 percentage point, month-on-month, to settle at 12.88 percent in March, the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre (ÚPSVaR) announced on April 19, as reported by the TASR newswire. However, the jobless rate was 2.55 percentage points higher than one year earlier. “It's just like we expected; judging by developments at the beginning of the year and seasonal summer jobs, as well as judging by input coming from employers, the situation on the Slovak labour market continues to stabilise,” said ÚPSVaR head Ján Sihelský to TASR.
Sme reports that Slovakia’s Act on Public Procurement is amended
Slovakia’s ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Směr party, recently passed an amendment to the Act on Public Procurement that abolished the right of the country’s Public Procurement Authority (ÚVO) to file a lawsuit in the event that the procurement law is violated, the Sme daily wrote on its website on April 19.
European Roma Parliament chides Slovak rapper and SNS’s Slota for anti-Roma remarks
The European Parliament of Roma (EPR) on April 19 lambasted Slovak Roma hip-hopper Rytmus for remarks he made last week indicating that inhabitants of Roma settlements in Slovakia are degenerate and that he doesn’t like them and that the head of the Slovak National Party (SNS), Ján Slota, is right when criticising them, the TASR newswire wrote. “Mr. Rytmus, you have built your career on profanities in your songs. Those ‘degenerated’ Roma buy your CDs with their last pennies,” EPR chairman Václav Kappel said in a written statement. Kappel went further with his. “When speaking about hip-hop, American blacks are far better, as they have perfect pitch – unlike you,” said Kappel to TASR, calling for Rytmus (age 33, real name Patrik Vrbovský from Piešťany in Trnava Region) to apologise for his remarks. Slota had announced that his party wants to boost police patrols in areas inhabited by Roma. And that SNS intends to promote social benefits for Roma citizens in the form of goods to prevent them from “drinking the money away within days”. Kappel chided Slota for his claim last week that Roma are lazy and said that Slota cannot camouflage his anti-Roma sentiments by fraternising with people like Ladislav Fizik, who is Roma, an SNS member and was an advisor to former Construction and Regional Development Minister Marian Janušek.
Slovak airspace is open for flights but most Tuesday flights remain cancelled
Slovakia’s airspace was completely reopened on Monday afternoon, April 19 the TASR newswire reported. “As of 14.40 the airspace in western Slovakia has been reopened,” informed Bratislava Airport spokesperson Dana Madunická. But Slovakia’s airspace is reopened only temporarily for the next 36 hours, TASR was told by Transport Ministry spokesman Stanislav Jurikovič.
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