Slovakia’s parliament will soon debate legislation the government says will restore balance and impartiality at RTVS by providing more room for diverse opinions. However, RTVS employees, opposition parties, and European watchdogs warn these changes will harm media independence.
The strike, supported by RTVS management, did not affect television or radio broadcasts but highlighted broader concerns since Robert Fico’s government took power last year. Employees claim this will bring news and other content under government control.
Employees demand a halt to the legislation, which will replace RTVS's director before his term expires and establish a new nine-member council appointed by the government and parliament to fill the position. The broadcaster's name will change to Slovak Television and Radio (STVR), costing millions of euros despite budget cuts.
Several dozen workers marched in Bratislava, chanting “Free Media!” and “We’re not giving up RTVS!”
“The planned legislative changes will threaten the editorial and creative independence of RTVS employees and collaborators,” RTVS’s strike committee said on Facebook.
But Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová supports the law, claiming it will ensure “public service, balance, independence, objectivity, truthfulness, and transparency” at RTVS.
Battle against the media
Fico’s coalition government has targeted the media and various state institutions, claiming they had been hostile towards it before assuming power in October of last year.
The bill on STVR, currently in Parliament and passed by the government in late April, aims to revise the governance structure of the public broadcaster, RTVS.
It modifies the rules for forming the broadcaster's governing bodies. Additionally, it terminates the tenure of the current director and the existing members of the RTVS Board.
This year, his government also shut down a two-decade-old special prosecutor's office that handled high-profile corruption cases. Fico argued that the lawyers unfairly targeted his party.
