(source: Sme)
Scott Griffen is Deputy Director of the International Press Institute
Slovak lawmakers approved changes to the country’s Press Code that grants politicians a “right of reply” in response to media content. Plans for the changes had attracted a storm of criticism earlier this year from press freedom groups, including the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Office of the OSCE’s Representative on Freedom of the Media. IPI warned in February that the new rules would “give politicians who are the subjects of critical news reports a convenient tool to retaliate against unwanted press coverage”.
