Statement of CTK on an article in the daily Lidove noviny

PRAGUE, July 14 (PROTEXT) - Statement of CTK on an article in the daily Lidove noviny titled "Castle requests different CTK reporter" and related materials: I consider it necessary to explain some misunderstandings that may lead to skewed opinions on the Czech News Agency's (CTK) task and position in the Czech media practice in light of recent polemical statements about CTK's journalistic work. CTK is not an official state agency but the law establishes it as a public institution. Its mission is to provide objective and allround information for the free formation of opinions. In harmony with the general European practice and the legislator's will CTK considers editorial independence to be the foundation of its efforts. For this reason, CTK in the mid-1990s voluntarily renounced its ties to the state budget, it is not state subsidised and it does not operate with public funds. In its journalistic work, CTK abides by the principle to only chronicle events and not comment on them. Agency news creation methods are based on ordering objective facts. An agency reporter must not have space to comment on or evaluate events. In order to objectively inform, however, it is just as necessary to report an event not only without the reporter's interpretation, but also without the interpretation of the source. Professionalism does not mean blindly copying information no matter where it comes from. If an agency were to violate this principle, it would immediately become an advertising agency or a press section of a state institution and would cease to be a journalistic entity. CTK publishes about 700 text pieces of information a day and it is understandable that some contain errors. While newspapers operate on a daily rhythm and radio and television on an hourly news rhythm, an agency operates constantly and its rhythm is cut to minutes. The number and severity of errors in CTK's service is below the western European standard. If some arise, however, CTK remedies them and corrects the item as quickly as possible. For CTK it is unacceptable for information from state institutions to be treated according to other than generally valid journalistic principles, independent of the will of the objects of its news service. Otherwise, CTK would deform its services based after 1989 on the principles of strict objectivity and unbiased reporting. If in the past pressure from the outside or calls for changes in the editorial staff have appeared, they have not changed this fact and will not change it in the future. Milan Stibral CTK Director Director Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug PROTEXT is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the CTK slug. Protext is a commercial service providing distribution of press releases from clients, who are identified in the text of Protext reports and who bear full responsibility for their contents. PROTEXT