How do you challenge the mainstream media? Czech startups are finding out.
| Prague
An odd thing happened here at the end of April.
On a drizzly Monday afternoon, thousands of anti-government demonstrators marched through the Czech capital鈥檚 medieval streets and filled one of its largest squares, protesting against alleged manipulation of the justice system.
The next day鈥檚 front page headline in the country鈥檚 biggest broadsheet daily? 鈥淏ig fines for weed-ridden gardens.鈥� News of the demonstration was buried on an inside page, in a brief item.聽
Why We Wrote This
When a country鈥檚 media landscape is dominated by a handful of tycoons, the task of informing the public often falls to independent journalistic outlets. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 happening in the Czech Republic.
Odd, certainly, but not unexpected. The broadsheet in question, Mlad谩 fronta DNES, belongs to Prime Minister Andrej Babi拧. So do more than 20 other publications, a radio station, and two TV channels.
Mr. Babi拧, the second-richest man in the Czech Republic, is not the only billionaire who sees value in owning a media empire. He and three other tycoons own the lion鈥檚 share of Czech print publications, popular news websites, and commercial broadcasting operations. One of them, Marek Dospiva, once explained his purchase of a string of regional papers by comparing ownership to a 鈥渘uclear briefcase. The fact that we own a media organization makes us safe in the sense that it will be worse for anyone to irrationally attack us,鈥� he said.
As business titans gobbled up the media, public trust in news fell 鈥� down to , according to this year鈥檚 Reuters Institute Digital News Report. And many professional journalists found themselves on the street 鈥� either fired or refusing to work for their new owners.
But some of them have planted the seeds of a new, independent press landscape. Scraping together launch money from friends and benefactors, working often for a pittance and sometimes from their living rooms, these start-up entrepreneurs have created a handful of innovative websites and magazines.
鈥淓very cloud has a silver lining,鈥� says Robert B艡e拧钮an, chief editor of Hl铆dac铆Pes, a start-up investigative news website whose name means 鈥淲atchdog.鈥� 鈥淭he cloud is Andrej Babi拧, but because of him several very good, free media projects have been launched.鈥�
They are still fragile: Even the most successful are barely breaking even, but their founders say they hold out tentative promise. They are points of light against the generally gloomy background of mounting assaults on press freedom in Central and Eastern Europe.
Czech magazine with a dash of New Yorker
Robert 膶谩sensk媒, a fan of The New Yorker, says he founded Reporter as 鈥渁 magazine for reading.鈥�
He resigned as chief editor of MF DNES soon after Mr. Babi拧 bought the paper in 2013. 鈥淎 newspaper owner who also owns 230 companies and a political party is not appropriate for investigative journalism,鈥� Mr. 膶谩sensk媒 says with a smile.
Today, Reporter is a handsome monthly mixing reportage and investigative articles with cultural coverage and generous photo-spreads. In a nod to Mr. 膶谩sensk媒鈥檚 inspiration, each edition carries a short story. The dozen or so staffers work in a colorful, relaxed newsroom that gives its reporters time to think.
Reporter launched in 2014 with $800,000 in loans from three of Mr. 膶谩sensk媒鈥檚 wealthier friends. Last year it broke even, and this year Mr. 膶谩sensk媒 hopes to start paying his debts. But even with growing sales (the magazine has a print run of 30,000), 鈥渇inding the last million鈥� Czech crowns in a 22 million crown ($970,000) annual budget 鈥渋s always a struggle,鈥� he admits.
The magazine relies on advertising for 65% of its revenues, Mr. 膶谩sensk媒 says. He doesn鈥檛 get advertisements from any government-linked institution and he didn鈥檛 expect any: None of the independent media sees advertising money from the government.
The new crop of independent media 鈥渋s a good sign. It means we journalists did not give up,鈥� says Mr. 膶谩sensk媒. 鈥淏ut at least some of us will have to survive at least 10 years to show those who are still working for oligarchs that they don鈥檛 have to be part of that.鈥�
Investigating from home
Ten years is further ahead than Mr. B艡e拧钮an of聽Hl铆dac铆Pes dares to think. 鈥淲e are really free and really independent, but I cannot assure anyone, least of all myself, that Hl铆dac铆Pes will still exist in a year鈥檚 time,鈥� he says frankly.
Not that the website is throwing its money about. It is put together by five investigative reporters who have no newsroom; they gather for weekly editorial meetings in a caf茅 and work from their homes. They are idealists, says Mr. B艡e拧钮an. 鈥淕ood journalism is in the public interest, and we hoped to find enough people and supporters who would think the same.鈥�
They have made a name for themselves with occasional scoops, including the revelation that diamonds and other precious stones in the National Museum鈥檚 collection were, in fact, cut glass. And their readership is respectable; stories picked up by the country鈥檚 biggest web portal Seznam.cz can reach 50,000 readers, says Mr. B艡e拧钮an 鈥� not bad in a country of 10 million people.
But when it comes to money, it鈥檚 a different story. Hl铆dac铆Pes launched with funds from businessmen who created a foundation for the purpose, but when the website began running stories about shady Russian companies, benefactors with business in Russia pulled out.
Hl铆dac铆Pes聽gets by for the time being on donations from Pavel Baudi拧, the Czech founder of anti-virus software firm Avast, and from the national Endowment for Independent Journalism. The site has run some crowdfunding campaigns and asks its readers at the bottom of each article to contribute. But this is not a long-term, sustainable business model, Mr. B艡e拧钮an knows. 鈥淥ur biggest problem,鈥� he says bluntly, 鈥渋s just to survive.鈥�
Independent journal
The newest kid on the Czech media block is Den铆k N, an offshoot of the successful venture of the same name in neighboring Slovakia.
The daily paper hit the streets and the website went live last October. The warren of small offices in downtown Prague where 44 staffers sit close-packed behind their computer screens still has a brand-new, bright-white feel.
But the ethos behind the project is 鈥済ood old-fashioned journalism,鈥� says Magdalena Slez谩kov谩, an international news writer. And that seems to have an appeal: A crowdfunding campaign before last year鈥檚 launch raised more than $300,000, Ms. Slez谩kov谩 says, a Czech record.
Den铆k N (the N stands for 苍别锄谩惫颈蝉濒媒, which means 鈥渋ndependent鈥�) clearly has no sympathy for Mr. Babi拧 or his government, but Ms. Slez谩kov谩 insists that it has 鈥渘o political agenda, just a value system鈥� favoring a Western liberal outlook.
The daily paper, which has just 3,000 subscribers at the moment, publishes a limited number of longer, in-depth articles. 鈥淩eaders seem to appreciate the added value,鈥� says Ms. Slez谩kov谩. Web subscriptions hit 11,000 this month, ahead of the targeted 7,000, she adds. The business plan calls for 20,000 subscriptions eventually.
Den铆k N, with the luxury of enough start-up funds from a group of local businessmen to hire 45 staffers, can report from the provinces, Ms. Slez谩kov谩 points out. 鈥淚f we can鈥檛 make it with these very generous conditions,鈥� she says, 鈥減robably nobody can make it.鈥�
Activist journalism
Also attracting attention are two unashamedly partisan websites whose opposition to Mr. Babi拧 shouts from every headline. And with the prime minister embroiled in scandal,聽they are having a field day. The police have recommended that Mr. Babi拧 be indicted for fraud and European Union auditors have ruled that he has a conflict of interest that could mean returning millions of euros in EU subsidies.
Dalibor Bal拧铆nek boasts that his Echo24 weekly and website were 鈥渢he first opposition press in the country鈥� when he launched them in March 2014. Mr. Babi拧 had just been named finance minister. Within a month, Mr.聽Bal拧铆nek says, his offices were raided by tax inspectors.
But what sets Echo24 apart from other newcomers to the media scene is its clearly conservative ideology. Mr. Bal拧铆nek espouses a family-values approach and is skeptical about the causes of climate change; he sees that as 鈥渁 competitive advantage,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he rest of the media don鈥檛 reflect what people see and feel.鈥�
He claims 12,000 subscribers to his website and magazine, which he targets not only at right-wing professionals, but at 鈥渁nybody who thinks it鈥檚 important for society that this voice be heard in the market, even if it is not very modern or fashionable.鈥�
At the other end of the political spectrum is Forum24, an often shrill platform for criticism of Mr. Babi拧 and all his works.
Its founder, Pavel 艩afr, another former chief editor of MF DNES, has no qualms about being called an activist journalist, as some of his critics have branded him. 鈥淎 journalist is an activist in a good way when he defends society against the misuse of power,鈥� he argues. 鈥淎nd the opposite of activist is passivist. We cannot be passive in this situation.鈥�
Mr. 艩afr says his website attracts a million unique visitors a month and that he is breaking even with revenues from magazine subscriptions, a pay wall on the website, advertisements channeled to the site by Seznam.cz, and crowdfunding drives.
Many Czech journalists regret that Forum24 appears to be obsessed with Mr. Babi拧 to the exclusion of almost every other topic. Mr. 艩afr rejects the criticism. 鈥淏abi拧 has so much power that he is everywhere,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e are just reacting to that.鈥�
Whether Forum24 will outlive Mr. Babi拧 is unclear. Whether any of the new crop of independent media can carve out a sustainable niche is equally uncertain. 鈥淲e have a number of new projects that are promising,鈥� says Michal Kl铆ma, head of the Czech chapter of the International Press Institute. 鈥淏ut it is hard to see how to make them profitable.鈥�
