Complex amendment to Slovakia’s FOI Act might make it one of the most liberal in Europe

Andrej Školkay, head of the School of Communication and Mass Media in Bratislava, Slovakia, assesses the proposed amendment to Slovakia’s law on freedom of information, comparing it to the Czech act and looking at the changes it will herald if approved

Collusion between politicians and journalists in the context of wiretapping of journalists

This case study reports about the collusion scandal behind the widespread wiretapping operations of various journalists. The report, however, focuses mainly on one part of the affair, namely the clear collusion between a journalist from the daily Pravda, and a top politician – a Member of Parliament, whose conversations were also recorded. MP Robert Kaliňák was apparently trying to persuade the reporter Vanda Vavrová to publish discrediting material about his political rival. The study thus largely examines the media’s role in politics and ethical issues resulting from trespass of the journalistic agency for objective and impartial reporting. Moreover, initial coverage of this affair by the selected media is analysed throughout the study to pinpoint the role of Slovak journalists/media while facing the controversial behaviour of one of their peers. It was found that the media actually underplayed the collusion story and focused their attention mostly on the wiretapping affair, strongly condemning the actions by the state authorities. Ironically, a few years later it was proved that the wiretapping of journalists (in contrast to other persons and institutions) was both legal and justified. Moreover, the media ignored the possible political and criminal corruption issues behind the double scandal

Húsková Eva, Súčasné trendy šírenia dezinformácií, Slovenský inštitút pre bezpečnostnú politiku a Inštitút strategických politík, Bratislava 2020, 28 p. ; Húsková Eva SSPI, Current Trends in Disinformation Dissemination, Slovenský inštitút pre bezpečnost

ReviewRecenzj

Medijsko zakonodavstvo i medijska politika u Slovačkoj: Ulazak u Europsku uniju i drugi val reformi

This article examines changes in Slovak media legislation during the accession period leading up to the joining of the European Union in May 2004. After providing a summary of the evolution of EU broadcasting policies, the authors first review the politicized nature of media development in Slovakia during the first decade of the post-communist experience, most importantly the private ownership of print media and a dual system of private and public broadcast media. The legacy of the restricted democracy that characterized the first five years of the independence of Slovakia was a commitment by the opposition at that time to civil society. The Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting, with EU guidance, prepared three laws, adopted by the Slovak parliament in 2000-01, which created the current legal media framework. Slovakia not only adopted the legislation required for EU accession, but at the same time it also advanced media regulation in other areas. The Slovak experience suggests the important role of consultation and consensus in designing media legislation. The evolution of new media technologies confronts both Slovakia and the EU with new challenges in regulation. The bases for all new Slovak policies are reflected in the National Policy for Electronic Communications, approved in 2003. The changes in Slovakia in media policy and administration related to EU accession should be seen as part of a larger process of media reorganization in Europe. They involve greater marketization, a two-tiered broadcasting systems and a changed definition of public broadcasting, trans-border ownership, globalization, and, more recently, a dramatic change in the technology and style of communication.Članak analizira promjene u slovačkom medijskom zakonodavstvu tijekom perioda pristupanja Slovačke članstvu u Europskoj uniji u svibnju 2004. Nakon sažetog prikaza razvoja politike emitiranja u Uniji, autori raspravljaju o ispolitiziranoj prirodi medijskog razvoja u Slovačkoj tijekom prvog desetljeća postkomunističkog iskustva, prije svega privatno vlasništvo tiskanih medija i dvojni sustav privatnih i javnih medija. Naslijeđe djelomične demokracije, koja je postojala prvih pet godina slovačke neovisnosti, bila je obveza opozicije prema tadašnjem civilnom društvu. Vijeće za radio i televiziju, pod vodstvom Unije, pripremilo je tri zakona koja je slovački parlament usvojio 2000. i 2001. godine, i koji predstavljaju trenutni medijski okvir. Slovačka ne samo da je usvojila zakone potrebne za pristup Uniji, nego je istodobno unaprijedila medijsku regulativu u drugim područjima. Slovačko iskustvo pokazuje važnost savjetovanja i konsenzusa u kreiranju medijskog zakonodavstva. Evolucija novih medijskih tehnologija suočava Slovačku i Europsku uniju s novim izazovima u regulaciji medija. Temelj svih budućih slovačkih medijskih politika vidljiv je u Nacionalnoj politici za elektronske komunikacije, koja je usvojena 2003. godine. Promjene u slovačkoj medijskoj politici i administraciji vezane uz Uniju dio su šireg procesa reorganizacije medija u Europi. One uključuju veću okrenutost tržištu, dualni sustav emitiranja, redefiniranje javnog emitiranja, prekogranično vlasništvo, globalizaciju, i odnedavna, dramatične promjene u tehnologiji i načinu komuniciranja

A Case-Specific Instance of Media Capture: the Gorilla Case of Slovakia

This article discusses an instance of case-specific self-inflicted partial media capture, acknowledging the chilling effect of legislation consistent with partial state capture. In general, this case illustrates the ethical and legal dilemmas in the reporting of a specific type of large-scale corruption in the media, which involves the denial of all accusations by most sources and a controversial stand by state authorities and politicians on the issue, forcing the media to primarily report rumors or contradictory claims and denials (after controversial files regarding the corruption were made public anonymously on the internet) or desist from reporting altogether (before the files were made public on the internet, due to possible libel threats). The findings question the normative expectations expressed in democratic theory related to the role of the media as a watchdog, in the specific context of large-scale corruption in post-communist states. Moreover, this paper suggests the need to re-examine the methodological aspects of quantitative content analysis of media coverage of corruption. This paper has also attempted to update the emerging theory on media capture with the term partial case-specific media capture

Partial state capture by a single oligarchic group: The Gorilla Case in Slovakia

The article discusses the Gorilla case, an officially still-contested partial state capture by a single local oligarchic group, in line with the (partial) Elite Cartels corruption pattern in Slovakia. Due to the manner in which evidence, although considered unofficial, was made available, this case illustrates secret political and business processes during partial state capture. The initial absence of the case in public, political, and academic discourses, suggests that state capture can be present and operate undetected for a long time. This study also shows that in-depth analysis of the Gorilla case was avoided by both domestic and international political scientists, despite its paramount practical and theoretical importance. This, in turn, reflects a methodological capture of political science. Consequently, this article disentangles the complexities of the Gorilla case and lays down the foundation for further studies. Specifically, it highlights the need for more careful research, terminological precision in both theory-building and empirical findings on state and media capture based on case studies, as well as re-assessment of the methodology of political sciences used in these research areas