Press Review
The fallout from the TV Nova drama continues to dominate the papers: the personnel changes following the departure of director Vladimir Zelezny make the front pages today. Also making the papers is planned industrial action in protest at the government's budget reforms.
As PRAVO reports, the latest victim of Nova's reorganisation is the station's head of news, Pavel Zuna. Mr Zuna was deeply unpopular with the government due to Nova's allegedly tendentious news coverage. Following pressure from the cabinet, says PRAVO, Pavel Zuna has been "kicked upstairs" to the post of Director of Programming. He will continue to read the evening news.
LIDOVE NOVINY reports today on allegations that five members of a police riot squad launched a racist attack on a Roma family near Jicin. Shouting racist abuse, the policemen reportedly burst into the family's apartment and beat up family members including a pregnant woman. The Interior Ministry's Inspectorate is now investigating the incident, says the paper.
Further on, and LIDOVE NOVINY covers the "apple or lemon" campaign against bad driving currently underway in the Czech Republic. Schoolchildren from across the country have been teaming up with traffic police this week for a campaign aimed at persuading drivers to reduce their speed. Drivers are being randomly stopped by police, and told what they've done wrong, or right. The schoolchildren give good drivers an apple, while those driving too fast receive a lemon. Meanwhile MLADA FRONTA DNES reports on Prague's planned Olympic bid. For the country's sportsmen, says the paper, a Prague Olympics is still a dream. But the city's mayor Pavel Bem wants to turn that dream into a reality. "Prague's unique location, history and beauty makes it an ideal candidate to host such an important international event," Mr Bem said this week.
MLADA FRONTA DNES says previous Olympic bids have been considered in the past, but this time the authorities seem to be serious. The Prague Olympics could be held in the city in either 2016 or 2020, although they could cost anything between 70 and 100 billion crowns, says the paper.
And finally the paper's sports section has more on the football fan who attacked a linesman during a Sparta-Bohemians match on Saturday. Lifelong Bohemians fan Zdenek Urban - alias "Ritchie" - seems to be enjoying his 15 minutes of fame, despite the threat of criminal proceedings hanging over him. In his second interview with MLADA FRONTA DNES in two days, Ritchie describes how he returned to Bohemians on Monday to apologise to the club's management.
Ritchie says his hands were shaking when he knocked on the door of the manager's office. "I'm the one. I'm the fan who did it. I'm sorry. I just lost my head," he told club officials, who were in the middle of a meeting. MLADA FRONTA DNES says Ritchie's apology fell on deaf ears: the officials remained seated and refused even to shake his hand. "Why did you do it?" one of them asked. "I was pissed out of my head" came Ritchie's eloquent reply.
But who is Ritchie? asks the paper. A man with a murky, mysterious past, is the answer. He was sentenced to three months in prison shortly before the November 1989 overthrow of Communism, for an unspecified offence. Freed by President Havel in a general amnesty, he decided to show his gratitude by taking a pizza round to the president's house. "I wanted to put it through his letterbox," Ritchie tells MLADA FRONTA DNES - "but they didn't let me past the front gates."
