Rob Cameron

Journalist/broadcaster for BBC/DW/RTÉ/ORF/CBC/Monocle Radio
Author of

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

I spent 27 years at Czech Radio and the BBC. I tried in that time to remain scrupulously impartial. Now I’m on my own, and I think scrapping the Czech licence fee is a dangerous idea.

Here’s why.

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https://t.co/U8C0H3jAvM

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

Saying you shouldn’t pay the licence fee because you don’t watch @CzechTV or listen to @CRozhlas is like saying you shouldn’t fund ambulances because you don’t have heart attacks or strokes.

It's a public service. It’s there for all.

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https://t.co/8tPq1K26kf

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

Babiš & Fico hold a joint cabinet meeting today in an unusual venue: the Slovak National Gallery.

It's an institution hollowed out by political interference under Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová, the gallery’s former director told me this year.

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https://t.co/FbH4R4emfI

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

A 100m-crown EU subsidy. An allegedly innovative toast-bread production line. Another fraud trial involving Babiš’s Agrofert empire, though not Babiš himself.

I tried to unravel his sprawling business empire in the first edition of Based in Bohemia.

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https://t.co/N8O6HC4WBT

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

Prague planned to dismantle its historic railway bridge and rebuild it eight kilometres upstream.

Then came the protests, petitions and a promise to save it.

But saving a bridge on paper is one thing. Actually starting the work is another.

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https://t.co/qFgVsqF7p3

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

@d4vskal Odpovědnost na to má Správa železnic a ministr dopravy. Premier má obrovsky vliv na obě.

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

Prague's rusty old railway bridge is 125 years old. Campaigners won their battle to save it from demolition, but repairs still haven't begun.

So they've sent birthday cakes to the politicians responsible.

B​ut does Andrej Babiš have a sweet tooth?

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https://t.co/qFgVsqEzzv

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

@d4vskal Von je premiér ty blbe.

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

Interesting take from Portugal.

[Manuel Baeta @m_lbaeta]

Nunca vou perceber o amor dos checos por um gargalo ferrugento sem nenhuma arquitetura especial como esta ponte em Praga.

Felizmente que apesar da estética superior nunca ninguém se lembrou disso no Porto quanto à ponte D. Maria Pia, também um gargalo histórico.

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

On 5 November 1937, Hitler told his military leaders of plans to seize Austria and Czechoslovakia by force.

Less than a year later came Munich.

But was Czechoslovakia's fate inevitable? Three enduring myths about 1938.

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https://t.co/hQ8YVIuGgR

[Mr. Make It Happen @SupportThaNawf]

We have to say “Mississippi” after each number

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

Mozart came here to escape smallpox but caught it anyway (and recovered, phew).

Lafayette escaped from prison, but rode off in the wrong direction.

The Communists rebuilt the astronomical clock - with Stalin's birthday.

Three stories. One city.

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https://t.co/sKF1ach2XC

[Hugo Rifkind @hugorifkind]

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

Czech TV and Radio are on strike today. Programmes have been curtailed and presenters are wearing black.

The govt is fulfilling a pre-election promise to scrap the licence fee. Journalists fear direct political control.

Here's why they're worried:

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https://t.co/zIfwdS1LGY

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

Today is Dušičky, the Czech Day of the Dead. Prague's cemeteries are full of candles and flowers. ​But some​ graveyards hold more secrets than others.

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https://t.co/Wu4xgGuv5a

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

A hero of the American revolution escaped from this Habsburg prison – then rode off in the wrong direction and was recaptured. My mate Honza owns his sword.

Olomouc has a million stories.

Here are three of them.

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https://t.co/sKF1acgv84

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

Thousands protested in Prague yesterday against plans to scrap the licence fee.

The govt says it’s keeping a promise. Journalists fear political control of public broadcasting.

I spoke to journalists in Prague and Bratislava about what’s at stake.

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https://t.co/zIfwdS1dRq

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

Slovakia’s spy chief crashed his muscle car in flip-flops and sports a Godfather tattoo.

L’Express said SIS was Europe’s worst secret service.

But do spy rankings matter?

I asked a security expert, a former spook and an ex-justice minister.

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https://t.co/GMqZ6ecBOJ

[Rob Cameron @RobCJournalist]

The Babiš govt advanced a bill scrapping TV and radio licence fee at 4:36am as protesters chanted outside.

The opposition warns of Orbán-style illiberal democracy.

The govt says it’s fulfilling an election promise.

The two are not mutually exclusive.

https://t.co/zIfwdS1LGY

[Jana Ciglerova @janacigler]

Fellow foreign journalists, we in the Czech Republic need your help. We're going on a strike. The current Czech government is following the fallen authoritarian leader of Hungary Viktor Orban and too wants to nationalize Czech Television and Czech Radio. It now, after the midterm election debacle, wants to do so before the public has a chance to voice its opinion. It is hastily convening evening and Saturday sessions of the Chamber of Deputies.

The coalition is signaling that it fears the public’s reaction. It is disregarding the opinions of experts, who argue that such a fundamental step as changing the funding of public media must be thoroughly discussed and prepared.

The @verejnopravne_ initiative firmly opposes the attempt to push through the nationalization of @CzechTV and @CRozhlas. Experts from the Czech Republic and abroad, a significant portion of society, and both media outlets have clearly stated that the government’s plan threatens the independence and stability of both media outlets. Instead of engaging in a substantive debate, the coalition has decided to force the proposal through.

In addition to the fact that the rushed developments in this matter threaten the independence and stability of both media outlets, they will also have a negative impact on the state budget, for which the cabinet has already proposed an exceptionally high deficit. The nationalization of public media will thus hit the wallets of all citizens of the Czech Republic.

The government is thereby forcing the employees of Czech Television and Czech Radio to stage a full-day strike. It will take place on Tuesday, November 3.

We call on everyone who cares about the future of Czech Television and Czech Radio to make their position known publicly and loudly. We, the employees of both institutions, are prepared to defend both public media outlets.

For the people. Not for politicians.