ČT chief off to rough start

Within days of being named the new general manager of the state broadcaster Czech Television (ČT), Petr Dvořák was embroiled in controversy about past membership in the communist party.

Dvořák, who formerly headed the commercial broadcaster TV Nova, was long the favorite to take the post in a selection process fraught with political intrigue, and won 12 of the 15 votes from a politically appointed advisory board in the final round of secret balloting.

"I am convinced the Czech TV board chose the best candidate from the five finalists," said Milan Uhde, chairman of the supervisory board and a former culture minister. "[Dvořák] promised to significantly enhance the cultural focus of Czech Television. If he fulfills his promise, it will be excellent."

But the selection process has come under criticism for its lack of transparency, and within days of being named to the post Sep. 21, reports surfaced that Dvořák had become a member of the communist party in September 1989, just two months before the Velvet Revolution.

This revelation came after Dvořák had appeared on a prominent public affairs TV show insisting he had never been a party member.

The daily Lidové noviny (LN), meanwhile, found a copy of his party membership card in the state archives.

"I declare that I was never formally accepted as a member of the communist party," Dvořák said in a prepared statement. "I learned the information about membership card about the alleged date of joining Czechoslovak Communist Party [KSČ] for the first time yesterday, Sept. 22, from the LN reporters."

He added that he had never attempted to conceal his application for party membership, which he said he filed in 1987 in order to travel to Brazil for a six-month internship.

"There is nothing to change about my statement," Dvořák told The Prague Post. "I never received a membership card; I was only a candidate. It was onviously the biggest mistake of my life, but I was young and somewhat naive, and I thought I would attend the foreign internship and then back out of it. History - and Nov. 17, 1989 - intervened."

Even without the controversy related to Dvořák's alleged party membership, the selection process was far from smooth.

"It has been nothing but a political game," said Jan Urban, a former dissident and now a journalism professor at New York University in Prague. "If the board had been worth something, they would automatically exclude all the candidates who have met with politicians or the prime minister."

Dvořák allegedly met with Prime Minister Petr Nečas in the midst of the selection process, creating additional fears that the state broadcaster could be used to meet political goals.

"Dvořák can be a great manager, but these guys have gotten used to lying to improve their position," Urban said. "In September 1989, everyone was still too terrified, and nobody believed the regime would collapse so soon. Dvořák was simply working on his career, and he believed this would help boost it."

Uhde has floated the idea of making board votes public but has seemingly softened his stance in recent days.

"I informed the council about my personal opinion that a public ballot would improve the prestige of the board," he said. "I do not want to indicate that I fear to publicize what I think. But a public election also, without a doubt, has its drawbacks. The results show it would not change anything substantially."

Dvořák led TV Nova from 2003 to 2010. His plan for Czech Television hinges on improving the ratings for the evening news on the flagship channel ČT1 and creating up a new child-oriented channel, ČT3.

Dvořák's forerunner Jiří Janeček, who led ČT for eight years, had himself been a KSČ member since 1981. He had failed to include that information on his resume when applying for the job. Once it was discovered, some called for his resignation. Janeček, however, stayed on the job through July 2011, before resigning because of health concerns.

"I have the feeling that the common goal now is to stabilize Czech TV and make something of it," Urban said. "If Dvořák succeeds, then I, even as a dissident, do not care that he has been a KSČ member for a couple of months. First he has to do his job; then we can evaluate him."

Klára Jiřičná can be reached at
kjiricna@praguepost.com