The demonstration at Prague's Letná Plain is projected to draw between 400,000 and 600,000 participants. Protesters and international watchdogs argue that replacing mandatory licence fees with direct state funding will leave newsrooms vulnerable to ministerial influence. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš dismissed the backlash as hysterical, denying that the government intends to nationalise public media. Broadcaster staff have already launched strikes alongside nationwide protests to defend the current monthly fee of 205 koruna.
Key points
Replacing mandatory licence fees with state budget funding poses a risk of ministerial in…: Replacing mandatory licence fees with state budget funding poses a risk of ministerial influence over public newsrooms.
The proposed financial overhaul would impose an estimated 15% budget cut on Czechia's pub…: The proposed financial overhaul would impose an estimated 15% budget cut on Czechia's public service broadcasters.
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš rejects accusations of political interference and insists the…: Prime Minister Andrej Babiš rejects accusations of political interference and insists the government will not influence editorial work.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Hundreds of thousands of Czechs are expected to rally in Prague on Sunday to protest against what they say is a government attempt to stifle media freedom.
The gathering to save the mandatory licence fees that fund Czechia’s public broadcasters could be one of the biggest in the nation’s history, organisers say.
It will mark the latest challenge to the prime minister, Andrej Babiš, and his coalition of populist, hard-right nationalist and Eurosceptic parties, and follows weeks of demonstrations in towns and cities and a strike by staff at Czech TV and Czech Radio.
Protesters say the plan to scrap licence fees and fund the broadcasters from the state budget would give ministers more leverage over newsrooms and follow the example of Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Serbia, where current and previous rightwing populist governments eroded media independence.
The Million Moments for Democracy group that is organising the demonstration said the authorities would see the level of opposition. “Babiš and his government obviously think they will get away with anything … that they can ignore experts, silence critics and treat democratic…
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