On Sunday, 27 September 2026, music journalist Jiří Tieftrunk, a long-time collaborator of Czech Radio Ostrava, died after a long illness. He was 75 years old. The news of his death was confirmed by his son, and subsequently by Czech Radio Ostrava in a press release.[1][2]*

Life and profession

Jiří Tieftrunk graduated from SPŠŽ (a secondary technical school of railway engineering) and worked as a signalling foreman in the maintenance of railway safety equipment. Alongside this profession, he was regarded as an expert on foreign and domestic popular music.[1]

Collaboration with the radio

In the first half of the 1990s, he worked externally at a private radio station. In 1997, as a specialist and expert on oldies, he began collaborating with Czech Radio Ostrava, where he took over the half-hour programme Byly hity tu ty. Gradually he changed the programme's name and jingle and extended its running time to as much as 56 minutes – the programme became known as Oldies aneb Historie z černých drážek and for the last two decades was also broadcast on all regional stations of Czech Radio.[1][2]

Besides his work on this programme, he compiled music calendars and historical overviews for the radio, and identified and collected old recordings. The director of Czech Radio Ostrava, Josef Podstata, said after his death that his command of foreign and domestic rock, pop, swing, r&b, country, folk and reggae from the 1950s to the 1970s was incredible and that his taste always entertained and instructed. He also recalled his favourite saying: "If you feel 'ouvej', put on oldies, that is music that has been tested by time and never lets you down!"[2]

Related articles: Czech Radio Ostrava, Jiří Tieftrunk

Chronology

Pages linking here

Sources

  1. Český rozhlas Ostrava — 28 September 2026
  2. Ostravan.cz — 29 September 2026