Employees of Slovakia’s public radio and television broadcaster, Radio and Television Slovakia (RTVS), engaged in a three-hour walkout strike on Monday, marking their first-ever strike. The action was taken in protest against government plans to revamp the broadcasting service, perceiving these moves as a threat to independent journalism and an insertion of governmental influence on news and media content.
The strike responds directly to a bill proposed by Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová. Key elements of this proposal include renaming the broadcaster to Slovakian Television and Radio (STVR) and appointing a new director through a nine-member council, partially selected by the Culture Ministry and Parliament. Should the bill pass, the current RTVS director-general, Ľuboš Machaj, who was elected by parliament, would be removed from his position before his term ends in 2027 (Denník N).
Šimkovičová claims the new bill aims to restore objectivity and truthfulness to the public broadcasting service. However, the RTVS Strike Committee argues that these legislative changes would undermine the organization’s independence and freedom of speech (Mediaklik).
Notably, the proposed legislation has faced criticism from international bodies. Reporters Without Borders alleged that the bill violated Article 5 of the European Media Freedom Act. Additionally, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), along with the International Press Institute and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, contended that the bill would politicize the public broadcaster and undermine its independence, leading to a breach of the European Media Freedom Act’s provisions on public media independence (European Federation of Journalists).
The EFJ emphasized that independent and pluralistic public media are crucial, especially in times of crisis, underscoring the heightened need for a robust public media landscape following the shooting of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in May 2024. The RTVS employees’ strike thus spotlights the ongoing tensions regarding media freedom and governmental control in Slovakia.
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