Region: Slovak press law will change

By Michaela Terenzani-Stanková

For the Slovak Spectator

"You can have a perfectly written media law if you are lucky - it's not the case in Slovakia, but I promise it will be," Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radičová told participants at the annual World Congress of the International Press Institute (IPI) in Bratislava in mid-September, signaling changes to the country's controversial media laws.

Speaking to top journalists from around the world, Radičová also remarked that a well-written media law is necessary but not sufficient for journalists to do their jobs professionally.

"There's also ethics and morality, as something you cannot put into the legal system," Radičová said. "It depends on our understanding of what is moral and what is not, what a conflict of interest is and is not, what is moral to publish and what is not, whether everything is for publication or not, and how."

Freedom of the press became an issue in Slovakia after the controversial Press Code was passed in 2008 by the Robert Fico-led government. Speaking to the congress, Radičová thanked the IPI for its clear opposition to the law.

She mentioned three areas in particular where she sees a need for change in the code: the right to reply, which allows politicians to comment on everything that is reported about them, even if it is factually accurate; the harsh sanctions that she believes have led to self-censorship among media that cannot afford to run the risk of losing a libel lawsuit and thus having to pay high sums in damages to politicians; and strong regulation of the media.

"These are the three things we'd like to change this autumn, and I hope the media will then get a better chance to criticize me," Radičová said.

The Vienna-based IPI, the world's oldest global press-freedom organization, held its annual World Congress between Sept. 11 and 14 in Vienna and Bratislava.

The congress marked 60 years since the founding of the organization and hosted more than 360 participants from 62 countries. Under the title "Thinking the Unthinkable: Are We Losing the News? - Media Freedom in the New Media Landscape," the global gathering discussed the changing media landscape and press-freedom issues across the world.

"I encourage you to continue the fight for a world where press freedom is no longer an issue," said IPI Interim Director Alison Bethel McKenzie during her speech.

Apart from promising to look into media legislation in Slovakia, Radičová also offered her opinions on public broadcasting and on journalists' everyday dilemma between commercial and public interests, and she shared her experiences of censorship under the communist regime.

"You are teaching me something very important: to weigh [my] words," Radičová said to journalists. "I think that the way to improve democracy, freedom, tolerance and, most importantly, human rights for everyone in this world is to weigh [our] words. You have the power to do it, and I wish you success."

The Bratislava part of the congress then continued with a panel discussion on media coverage of extremist politicians, which included four speakers: Miroslav Lajčák, former international high representative and EU special representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and foreign minister in Robert Fico's government; Slovak investigative reporter Sergej Danilov; Hungarian investigative reporter Gábor Miklósi; and the editor-in-chief of the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, Alexandra Foderl-Schmid. The debate was moderated by CNN anchor Jim Clancy.

As a part of the IPI World Congress, an award ceremony was held Sept. 13 at Vienna City Hall in honor of the IPI's 60 World Press Freedom Heroes. Over the past eight months, the IPI has announced eight new IPI World Press Freedom Heroes: Lasantha Wickremasinghe, Laurence Gandar, May Chidiac, Lydia Cacho, Yoani Sanchez, Akbar Ganji, Nedim Sener and Pap Saine.

Michaela Terenzani-Stanková can be reached at news@praguepost.com