Filling the BBC void

Friday at 7pm was a sad moment for news buffs. The Czech BBC signed off after 66 years on the air, although it will keep reading news reports for a few more weeks. Efforts to save the station failed. Even Premier Jiří Paroubek intervened. (He must not have listened to its weekend commentaries.) The praise for the station in recent weeks has been well-deserved, but it has also been a bit unfair to Czech Radio. Sure, it's a bloated public institution, and it must be more careful than the local BBC in choosing its battles, but it nevertheless does some fine reporting. BBC listeners might particularly want to try ČRo6. It can be found in the evenings at 639/954/1332 AM or at www.rozhlas.cz. There are fears that it too might be shut down. It deserves a broader audience than what it can get on AM, but that might only hasten its demise. Like the Czech BBC, it has largely been left alone to do some fine analytical work precisely because its reach is so narrow. [Czech Republic censorship]