Final Word from Thursday, December 22, 2005
Miloš Čermák of Czech TV's canceled "Bez obalu" program wrote in HN today that the show's demise had nothing to do with freedom of speech. The fact that he could write this in HN, he said, is proof that it wasn't a press-freedom issue. What Čermák misunderstands, though, is Jiří Paroubek's Putin-like approach to the media. The Russian authorities have solved the media issue quite cleverly from their perspective, according to Derk Sauer, a Dutchman active in Moscow: They've decided to control TV, with its wide reach, and leave the newspapers alone. Independent news on Russian TV doesn't exist, he said. The last vestige, Olga Romanova, was sacked a few weeks ago. The similarities between her case and "Bez obalu" are what Čermák should look at. Little-read articles in the printed media merely serve as an alibi for Putin and Paroubek. They can wave them about as proof that press freedom is alive and well. [Czech Republic Vladimir Putin Czech Television Hospodářské noviny]