On July 1, Slovakia disbanded the public service broadcaster RTVS and created a new state-owned media outlet instead. This was reported by Deutsche Welle, according to UNN.
Details
After Slovak President Peter Pellegrini signed a law on the dissolution of RTVS, the broadcaster formally ceased to exist, and a new company, STVR, was launched instead.
Marketing expert Ihor Slanina has been appointed interim head of the new state media outlet. He will manage STVR with limited powers until the end of September. The new head will be elected by a board appointed by the government and parliament.
Slovakia's Minister of Culture Martina Šimkovičová and Prime Minister Robert Fico accused RTVS of bias against them. However, due to legal restrictions, they could not dismiss the CEO Lubos Machaj, who was elected by the former parliamentary majority for a term until 2027.
Opposition parties have announced their intention to file a complaint with the Constitutional Court. They accuse the government of wanting to create a propaganda outlet.
Recall
Following the publication of the draft law on the dissolution of the broadcaster in March, a series of protests were held led by RTVS journalists, who published a petition expressing fears that the new law would create "an instrument of political control over RTVS for any government.
The government-approved reform was criticized by then-President Zuzana Chaputova, the opposition, international media organizations, and the European Commission. The government subsequently withdrew some of the most troubling elements of the law, including the provision for a new politically appointed council to coordinate programs. On June 21, the Slovak parliament approved the government's planned reform and change of leadership of the public broadcaster RTVS.