Beata Balogová a Roman Krpelan (source: Sme - Marko Erd)
Slovakia’s leading independent daily SME is to have a new editor-in-chief for the first time in more than a decade. The publisher, Petit Press, announced that Roman Krpelan will take over the role from 1 October 2025, succeeding Beata Balogová, the paper’s longest-serving editor-in-chief.
Krpelan, 47, will oversee SME’s newsroom alongside its sister titles Korzár, Index and Closer. He began his journalistic career at SME in 2001 and later served as deputy editor-in-chief until 2010. After more than a decade working in public relations, government administration and politics — most prominently as spokesperson and adviser to former Slovak president Andrej Kiska — he rejoined Petit Press in 2023 as director of SME.
His appointment marks an unusual choice for a newsroom leadership position, as SME has traditionally been steered by editors with careers rooted exclusively in journalism. Publisher Alexej Fulmek defended the decision, citing Krpelan’s “professionalism, independence and sense of justice” as well as his ability to guide the paper through challenges posed by artificial intelligence and the growing influence of social media.
“I am glad Roman is back in his home newsroom,” Fulmek said. “He brings experience from the other side of media – commercial and political life – which will help us explain the world more clearly to readers.”
SME is Slovakia’s most-read news website, with an average of 106m page views and 2.2m unique visitors monthly in 2025. Around 150 journalists from SME, the economic outlet Index, the lifestyle portal Closer, the regional titles MY and Korzár, and the sports portal Sportnet contribute to the site, publishing over 60 original articles a day along with additional agency reports.
Balogová, who took over the newsroom in 2014 amid a crisis triggered by investment group Penta’s entry into Petit Press, is credited with rebuilding the editorial team and safeguarding the paper’s independence. Under her leadership, SME became Slovakia’s most awarded newsroom in national journalism prizes and maintained its reputation as a liberal, pro-democracy voice.
“We are not saying goodbye to Beata,” Fulmek said. “She remains an essential part of the publisher’s future plans.”
Balogová, who won the European Press Prize in 2020 for commentary, said she would continue writing for SME as a columnist. “Leading SME has been the greatest privilege of my career,” she said. “I will keep defending freedom, the right and duty of journalists to hold the powerful to account, and providing readers with the information they need for responsible decisions.”
According to Hospodárske noviny, she will also be in charge of Petit Press’ international relations.
Krpelan acknowledged the weight of expectation as he prepares to step into the role. “Journalism is among the toughest professions,” he said. “In these turbulent times, it is more important than ever to offer trustworthy, fact-based reporting and to explain the context behind events. I will do everything I can to meet those expectations.”
Petit Press, Slovakia’s second-largest publisher by turnover, also produces the English-language Slovak Spectator and a range of regional newspapers, magazines and podcasts.
