Editors-in-chief of a number of Czech media outlets have published a joint appeal to politicians, asking them to reject violence and to guarantee all media equal access to official information from public authorities.
Editors-in-chief of a number of Czech media outlets, among them Deník, Novinky.cz, iDNES.cz, Seznam Zprávy, Respekt, Czech Television, Czech Radio, TV Nova and the Czech News Agency, have published a joint appeal to the political scene. They addressed it to women and men in politics at the national, regional and municipal level, regardless of party affiliation. The text was published by Deník on its website and reprinted by Ekonomický deník [1][2].
Content of the appeal
In the introduction, the authors state that, despite their different orientations, they find common elements in how they operate in relation to the political scene and public power, and they call on public officials to reject violence, to observe the principles of decent communication and to respect free access to information [1][2].
The appeal contains two main principles. The first says that violence is not an argument: neither the media nor political representatives may incite violence or lead others to it, and the journalists ask politicians to do the same with regard to their supporters and voters, including in discussions on social networks. The second declares the restriction of information unacceptable: according to the text, media and politicians have the right to decide with whom and how they wish to communicate, but authorities and public institutions are not the property of those who run them, and their official information outputs should be available to everyone without distinction [1][2].