Czech Television boss accuses researchers of pro-Palestinian bias for criticising coverage

Researchers from Masaryk University's Centre for Media Ethics and Dialogue have demanded an apology from Jan Souček, the director of Czech Television, for calling their integrity into question over their analysis of the public broadcaster's coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Czech Television commissioned experts last year from Brno's Masaryk University to analyse its news coverage of the Hamas attack on Israel and the Israeli reprisals in Gaza. In their final report which they produced in March, the researchers concluded that the broadcaster had favoured the Israeli perspective, ignored the wider context and dehumanised the Palestinians, which may have contributed to public polarisation. At a Czech Television board meeting, General Director Jan Souček then accused the authors of the study of bias towards the Palestinians and of participating in pro-Palestinian events, which the researchers denied. They are now seeking an apology from Mr. Souček, describing his accusation as an attack on their professional integrity.