EBU criticizes Czech public media funding reform

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has warned that the government’s proposal to fund public-service media from the state budget lacks legal safeguards designed to protect Czech Television and Czech Radio from political influence over future funding decisions.

The criticism came in a joint statement issued by the EBU, 17 public-service broadcasters from Central and Eastern Europe, and eight journalism organizations. The signatories urged the government to abandon the planned changes.

According to the EBU, any reform of public-service media financing, regardless of the model chosen, must ensure adequate, stable and predictable funding and be accompanied by strong, binding guarantees of editorial independence.