Czech tabloids to get their wings clipped
In the past two decades of their existence, Czech tabloids have become increasingly aggressive, stopping at nothing in their quest to get an edge over the competition. Reports from the show-biz world and gossip about well-known personalities, which marked the birth of a tabloid press after the fall of communism, soon gave way to intrusive pictures of celebrities on their death-bed, politicians caught in the nude and reports about spontaneous abortions and fatal diagnoses. A proposed amendment to the law aims to curb these excesses and make the tabloid press answerable for the photos and lies that appear in print.
It’s no holds barred for the Czech tabloid press – it has brought snapshots of a much-loved film legend on her death bed, a respected 70-year old actress caught in the nude, an MP topples on the beach and even a former prime minister naked at a private party. Reports of alleged alcoholism, drug abuse and sexual deviations abound.
Although there have been verbal battles and even a few fistfights with the paparazzi, few of the celebrities concerned take their case to court and in cases where they do so the fine meted out for violating the right to privacy or publishing downright lies is negligible –far outweighed by the profit made. Now the Legal Affairs Committee of the Czech lower house is proposing a change of legislation that would serve as a serious deterrent. Stanislav Polčák is an MP for TOP 09:
In line with the proposed amendment tabloids which use an unauthorized picture might end up having to pay twice its market price –which could run into hundreds of thousands if not millions of crowns. Celebrities about whom a tabloid prints slander can also calculate the profit made from that article and demand approximately the same amount in compensation.
Czech celebrities who have long sought better protection from increasingly intrusive paparazzi have welcomed the move. Actor Ondřej Vetchý says the proposal is long overdue.
“Democracy in the Czech Republic often takes a beating, but this time round it is getting a big boost. Violating people’s privacy or slandering will not be so easy if the publisher or editor is held fully accountable.”
Writer Michal Viewegh says that celebrities in this country are in an extremely vulnerable position.
That should soon change although the final version of the proposed bill will depend on the input of deputies and senators who have yet to debate it in Parliament. Judging by the fact that many of them have themselves fallen victim to the tabloid press they are unlikely to be in a benevolent frame of mind.
