Czech Radio History Part VII - Czech Radio stations
After 1989, Czechoslovak Radio, just like almost every other institution in this country had to find a new identity. Almost overnight, it ceased to be the voice of the state and changed into a broadcaster whose goal was to provide unbiased information, education and entertainment to listeners in an increasingly competitive environment. In 1991, Czechoslovak Radio became a public-service institution, independent of the state and funded by subscription fees. 1993 was another milestone for the broadcaster - the split of Czechoslovakia gave birth to Czech Radio with its six different stations.
Czech Radio 1 - "Radiozurnal", is the flagship national news channel. Its name comes from the first radio operator in this country back in the 1920s. The station broadcasts domestic and international news, political discussions, programmes for minorities as well as weather, traffic and road information, and pop-music round-the-clock.
Czech Radio 2 - "Praha" is the second nationwide station which provides programmes for the whole family twenty-four hours a day. It defines itself as a traditional radio station and with its varied programmes, including news, current affairs, music and drama, targets both adults and children.
Czech Radio 3, "Vltava" focuses on listeners interested in arts and literature. It broadcasts live classical or jazz music concerts, operas, radio drama as well as readings from literature. All that nationwide and round the clock.
In 1995, another nationwide channel was established, called Czech Radio 6/Radio Free Europe, combining news, political analysis and comments, submitted by RFE/RL, BBC, Deutsche Welle and the Voice of America. Currently the whole programme is produced by Czech Radio, including its foreign-language service, still providing political comments and in-depth analysis of current affairs.
Czech Radio also runs a network of eleven regional studios which cover local events and provide regional information service as well as national and international news.
In next week's edition of this series, we'll take a look at Czech Radio's international service, Radio Prague.
