Ján Pallo, Publisher (source: Jana Liptáková)
The Slovak Spectator has for 20 years been able to bring independent reports about what is going on in the country’s politics and business. We continue the mission started by our founders in 1995 and not even the partial ownership by the Penta financial group of our mother company Petit Press that made news in the autumn can threaten our independence and firm ethical principles that have become part of our corporate culture.
Just as in the 1990s, when The Spectator fulfilled an important role in promoting democratic principles, today we, too, feel enormous responsibility to our readers who are the most important partners for us and who cannot become the victims of the oligarch interests. We are convinced we can bring independent news while managing the turbulence of the media market.
Economic challenges and our effort to cope with them is one of the main reasons why we decided to return The Slovak Spectator, after more than 10 years back, to a bi-weekly periodical starting in 2015. In combination with this, we are preparing a new web format that will offer better arranged information with the stress on highlighting the latest, daily updates – so you can always know the most up to date information.
Our current editor-in-chief will become the chief editor of the Sme daily – our sister paper under the Petit Press umbrella – starting at the turn of the year, and in the upcoming weeks, we will introduce you to the person from our internal environment who will take over and continue the responsible work that Beata Balogová has been doing since 2003. Beata managed to steer The Spectator through the demanding crisis year of 2009, and use her international experience to create projects which the newspaper is still implementing now – including the Spectator College, visits by Pulitzer Prize laureates to Slovakia, and specialised services tailor-made for the diplomatic community, which we will continue at full speed. Beata will maintain her connection with The Spectator through these projects.
The year 2014 brought for us several successes, among them the Via Bona award for our corporate social responsibility activities in the main category Responsible Small/Medium Company.
Apart from the newspaper and website, we also brought our readers also new innovations in our annual Investment Advisory Guide, with a handy summary investment check-list for everyone who does business, or who wants to invest in Slovakia. Spectacular Slovakia was published, for the first time in a full book format on more than 300 pages, with maps, thousand pictures, presenting more than 450 tourist spots in Slovakia as well as 32 travel feature stories introducing even a few lesser-known places.
I would like to thank ambassadors, companies, institutions and all readers for whom we make the newspaper, and we are looking forward to continuing strong next year, which will be a time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Slovak Spectator.
Thank you, for being our readers. We wish you and your families all the best in the holiday season.
Author: Publisher, The Slovak Spectator
