Czech TV defends journalists against political attacks in parliament

Czech Television has issued a statement defending its journalists against political attacks, following a heated parliamentary debate on public media funding reform.

During an extensive discussion, opposition MPs launched personal attacks on both current and former Czech TV personalities, including Václav Moravec, host of the main Sunday political talk show, and Martin Řezníček, the network's prime-time news anchor.

Opposition leader Andrej Babiš devoted a significant portion of his speech to criticizing Řezníček, who moderated a presidential debate in 2023. During that debate, Babiš himself made several controversial statements in his unsuccessful bid for the presidency. Despite his own performance, he has since repeatedly accused Řezníček of showing bias in moderating the discussion.

"The parliamentary discussion about media reform has become a new pretext for aggressive personal attacks on Czech Television reporters and anchors," said a joint statement from Director General Jan Souček and News Director Petr Mrzena.

"While MPs may choose to accept increasingly aggressive and insulting communication as the new standard in Czech politics, we urge them to stop attacking and defaming journalists. This is an unfair fight – journalists cannot use the same means of defense while maintaining their professional standards," the statement concluded.