“A great friend and colleague”: Tributes paid to journalist Daniel Anýž
Tributes have been pouring in for Daniel Anýž, the Czech journalist and commentator who died on Saturday at the age of 59. Mr Anýž, who served as a Washington correspondent and was known as an expert on US affairs, worked for a number of Czech media outlets, including the Czech-language service of the BBC.
Daniel Anýž, who died on Saturday at the age of 59 following a long illness, originally studied geology at the Faculty of Life Sciences in Prague before discovering his life’s calling in journalism.
Between 2006 and 2010, he worked as a US correspondent for the daily Hospodářské noviny. Upon his return, he continued to comment on US affairs for various Czech media outlets, including Czech Radio.
Daniel Anýž was widely respected as a journalist and there has been a stream of tributes following the news of his passing, describing his death as an enormous loss.
The minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavský, said he had been instrumental in cultivating foreign news coverage and had helped shape his view of American politics.
Martin Ehl, chief editor of the daily Hospodářské Noviny, who was a long-time colleague and friend of Daniel Anýž, echoes Mr Lipavský’s sentiment:
“We had a lot of discussions when I was a chief of editorial staff of foreign affairs at Hospodářské noviny and I was always surprised how deep his knowledge was. And the second thing is that he was able to transform his knowledge into very readable articles. I think this was his main contribution to Czech journalism.”
Mr. Ehl says Daniel Anýž will be remembered by many not only as a great journalist, but also as an extremely humble person:
“He had his own strong opinions on many things, but it was never about winning a debate, but more about having a discussion, and finding common ground. And I think that’s what made him a great friend and colleague you could talk to about almost anything.”
Anýž, who also worked for the weekly Týden and the Czech edition of Newsweek, was the recipient of the Open Society Foundation’s Journalism Award for his column called American Week, in which he commented on US affairs.
A few years ago, he also wrote a book I Go With My Head Held High, about the fates of Milada Horáková and her family. In an interview for Radio Prague, he explained what inspired him to write it:
“It took me a long time, and I was not sure whether I really wanted, or needed, to write a book. Because what was missing was the story of Jana, the daughter.
“She didn’t want to be that much involved; she really wanted it to be about her father and the family.
“But in 2015 or 2016, when I heard representatives of the Communist Party, how they began to cast doubt on the story of Milada Horáková – they said she somehow deserved what she got – I began to push Jana to speak about herself, so the story would be completed."
