Freedom of speech is bad for business

19 May 2025

Slovakia’s most-watched private TV channel, Markiza, is sidelining journalists who challenge its leadership. News anchor Viktor Vincze, a union representative critical of management, was reassigned to an online project without prior notice.

This follows the May 2024 firing of another reporter who exposed censorship on air, and shared that he was pressured to uninvite a guest from his political debate. Vincze continued to speak out about the pressures from the management, resulting in a pay cut and an ultimatum to choose between hosting an entertainment show or the evening news.

Some media outlets described this trend as the "Orbanisation" of Slovak media. Vincze’s reassignment sparked backlash from colleagues, who called it "bullying and the removal of an inconvenient person" in an open letter, signed by 47. Markiza’s Czech owners, PPF company, tied to government-linked business interests worth millions, appear to be yielding to political pressure for friendlier coverage.

TV Markiza historically did a special job in providing quality journalism while being private, which often comes second to providing entertainment. Their reporting popularised political debate during different political periods, and often made its way to meme pages and social media from television. The recent trend emulated by the government coalition is to organise pointless press meetings and not answer any questions of journalists. The viewers stand behind free media and look for alternatives and follow the reporters they trust.

What happens next in TV Markiza is yet unclear, but the reporter fired in 2024 almost immediately launched a new independent, crowdfunded media project called 360tka. The money was collected in a matter of hours, which showed the public interest in the format of difficult debates with politicians who are willing to accept the invitation. It also showed that the monopolised media market is not untouchable.