According to the latest Report on the State of Czech Democracy, the Czech media scene remains relatively free and internationally respected, but at the same time faces increasing pressure. Attacks on journalists are on the rise, the risk of weakening public service media is growing, and the state is not yet sufficiently prepared for the impact of digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
The authors of the report point to a significant increase in verbal attacks on journalists, especially in the online environment. According to a survey by the Czech National Committee of the International Press Institute, 62% of respondents said that the frequency of attacks had increased over the past five years. A third of journalists encounter some form of attack at least once a month, and 6% even daily.
Escalated situations arose mainly during the pre-election campaigns for the Chamber of Deputies. Some politicians labelled critical media as disinformation, refused to communicate with them, or did not allow their representatives into their election headquarters.
The report also warns of the risk of SLAPP suits, which politicians or businesspeople can use to intimidate the media.
ČT and ČRo between stability and new threats
According to the report, 2025 brought a shift towards greater stability for public service media, particularly in terms of their legislative anchoring and funding through licence fees. This model is considered key to ensuring independence from annual political decisions on the state budget.
However, the authors warn that the new government's proposals – such as changes to funding or the merging of public service media – may pose a risk. Transferring funding to the state budget could increase the media's dependence on the current political representation. Similarly, the possible merging of institutions could open the door to politically motivated personnel interventions.
Digital environment and AI without clear rules
The report states that Czechia is lagging behind in its preparations for regulating the digital environment. Online media are not clearly defined in legislation, and an implementing law for the European Digital Services Act (DSA) has not yet been adopted. The practice of revenue sharing between platforms and publishers is also problematic, as according to the authors, it does not provide adequate compensation to the media.
The advent of artificial intelligence is a major challenge. AI tools in search engines and social networks are increasingly offering users generated responses instead of links to original sources. This leads to a decline in traffic to news websites and a further weakening of their revenues.
Concentration and weak economy of smaller titles
According to media plurality monitoring, concentration of ownership is one of the most risky areas of the Czech media environment. Ownership of news media is concentrated in a few large companies, and transparency is insufficient.
In addition, smaller and regional newsrooms are struggling with a long-term difficult financial situation. Many projects have ceased to exist, while others survive thanks to grants or community support. The authors of the report therefore recommend opening a debate on possible public support for journalism, following the example of some Western European countries.
Strong international position, but growing negative trends
Despite the risks mentioned above, Czechia maintains a high level of media freedom. In the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranking, Czechia moved up seven places and currently ranks tenth in the world.
However, the report draws attention to the continuing influence of Russian propaganda, which is being taken up by some disinformation websites, as well as to the insufficient regulation of the rapidly growing online advertising market, which is dominated by global platforms.
Recommendations: protecting independence and greater regulation
The expert group recommends maintaining independent funding for public service media, implementing the European directive against vexatious lawsuits, strengthening media education in schools, and adopting the necessary legislation to regulate digital platforms.
It also emphasises transparent public advertising procurement, support for smaller editorial offices and strengthening the role of the regulator. Without these steps, the authors argue, economic pressures, technological changes and political interference threaten to gradually weaken the plurality and independence of the Czech media.
Positive trends
- The increase in licence fees and the introduction of their automatic indexation have strengthened the financial stability and independence of public service media.
- The effectiveness of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and the adoption of a self-regulatory decalogue have contributed to strengthening ethical standards, transparency and the protection of journalists.
- The emergence of new small editorial offices capable of securing sustainable funding confirms the willingness of part of the audience to pay for quality independent journalism.
- The establishment of the Safe Journalism platform and the opening of the RSF regional office in Prague have strengthened institutional support and protection for journalists.
- Czech online media are increasing editorial transparency and more consistently separating editorial content from advertising.
- Before the elections, Czech and international journalism organisations jointly called for the protection of media freedom.
- The Czech Republic has consolidated its position among the countries with the highest level of media freedom and has moved up to 10th place in the RSF world index.
Negative trends
- The Czech state has been unable to effectively limit Russian influence and the spread of propaganda through disinformation websites.
- The spread of AI tools in search engines is reducing traffic to source media and threatening their revenues.
- There is still a lack of adequate legislation ensuring media ownership transparency and rules against excessive concentration.
- Access to media content for people with disabilities remains inadequate despite some progress.
Source: mediaguru.cz