Author says national identity threatened by German interests

Media critic Borivoj Celovsky has a message for his compatriots who read the Czech press. There is no Czech press. Celovsky, author of The End of the Czech Press, says that the country's national identity is threatened because nearly all the nation's newspapers are owned by foreign media companies. "This is not only demeaning but also dangerous, especially when the capital comes from a powerful neighbor with whom we share the strategically important real estate called Central Europe," he said. Celovsky's comments and book, which recently went into its second edition, are inspired by the fact that foreign capital controls more than 80 percent of the Czech national newspaper market and 100 percent at the regional level. Celovsky said that he is worried that the newspapers will side with Germany in disputes between the two countries. The co-owner of a recently launched national newspaper has also criticized foreign ownership of newspapers. The situation threatens readers' access to a wide variety of opinions, said Ivan Kaufmann, who started national daily newspaper Denik Impuls May 12. Rheinisch-Bergische Druckerei- and Verlaggesellschaft, GmbH (RBVG), based in Germany, controls Mlada fronta Dnes and Lidove noviny, the country's second- and fourth-largest national newspapers. Vltava-Labe-Press (VLP), a subsidiary of Passauer Neue Presse (PNP) in Germany, controls the entire regional newspaper market, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, a nonprofit group that tracks newspaper ownership and circulation. Swiss-run publisher Ringier controls Blesk, the No. 1 daily in the country.