Editors-in-chief call on the Foreign Ministry to allow all media at briefings

The editors-in-chief of ten Czech media outlets called on the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday to allow all media to attend its press briefings, in an open letter addressed to the Ministry. The move followed a briefing by Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists’ Party), which representatives of Deník N, a Czech independent daily, were not allowed to attend. The editors described this as unacceptable.

In the briefing Macinka was addressing his dispute with President Petr Pavel and the alleged messages he had sent to the president. However, at the briefing journalists pointed out that Deník N reporter Zdislava Pokorná had not been allowed into the room. Macinka responded to questions about the exclusion by saying: “Well, we’re terrible, I know.”