No pay, no play

Political censorship isn't usually a big problem in the Czech Republic, and more insidious is the commercial censorship. Companies use their marketing budgets and other means to influence what the media say - or, more importantly, don't say - about them. The first cracks in the system are starting to show, though, as companies shrink their marketing budgets and their pay lists. Financial institutions are among the biggest slashers, and - voilà - they are now coming under increased scrutiny for "gouging" and "usury." There also seem to be more reports accusing O2 of such things as trying to steal Mediatel's yellow- pages customers and overcharging Czechs in order to subsidize low-ball pricing in Slovakia. Bucking the trend is ČEZ. It's been running a big ad campaign, although it doesn't have much to advertise that hasn't already been splashed on the front pages. For the moment, at least, its form of commercial censorship seems to have tempered the outrage in the ad-starved press about its high rates and profits. [Orange Telefonica electricity Euro magazine TV Nova]