Radio and Television Slovakia (RTS) – the new public service institution that came into existence on Saturday, January 1 following the merger of Slovak Television (STV) and Slovak Radio (SRo) – will be temporarily headed by Miroslava Zemková who has previously served as the SRo director, the TASR newswire reported.
This was the decision of Speaker of Parliament Richard Sulík (SaS), his personal assistant Tatiana Tóthová told TASR. Sulík had two candidates to choose from as RTS interim director as STV director Štefan Nižňanský was also a candidate.
A permanent director should be selected by parliament and this could take place within three months. According to the Ministry of Culture, the RTS director will be selected by MPs so that his or her position is strengthened.
SRo and STV are a single entity as of January 1, 2011, according to the Slovak Radio and Television Act drafted by Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer (SaS). President Ivan Gašparovič has twice refused to sign the Act, but his veto has been overruled.
Krajcer's initiative was designed to resolve the financial woes plaguing STV and to boost the quality of programmes aired by both media. More than €1.6 million in administrative cost is expected to be immediately saved due to the merger.
Zemková said preparing a makeshift budget and appointing deputy directors will be her first steps as the Radio and Television Slovakia (RTS) head. "Daniela Vasinová (SRo economic section director) will become the deputy director for Slovak Radio and Ľuboš Machaj (SRo programme section director) will become deputy director for Slovak Television," Zemková's spokesperson, Alexandra Štullerová Koreňová, told TASR.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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