BRATISLAVA, February 19, (WEBNOVINY)- At a meeting with members of the executive board of the International Press Institute (IPI) on Friday Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer informed that his ministry has prepared a revision of the Press Act, which fixes its controversial right-of-reply clauses. The revision, which should be on the Cabinet’s table soon restricts the right of reply for public officials if at stake is a statement related to performance of their powers. The spokeswoman of the ministry Eva Chudinova told SITA that the minister informed the guests that according to the revision it is possible to request publication of an answer in relation to an untrue, incomplete or distorting factual statement concerning honor, dignity or privacy of a private individual or the name or good reputation of a corporate entity based on which it is possible to identify the person.
Members of the IPI executive board highly appraised that Slovakia’s Press Act is to be revised so shortly after the new government took up, mainly in the area of the public official’s right of reply. Head of the IPI executive board Carl-Eugen Eberle operating in ZDF German Television, Germany said that he would mention Slovakia as an example for other countries at the Brussels congress on media in Eastern Europe. He intends to speak first of all about development and progress in the media sphere in Slovakia not only regarding the Press Act but also in connection with the country’s reform of public service media.
The 2008 Press Act contains provisions obligating print media to publish the replies of readers who feel their reputation has been “touched” by a published article. IPI has strongly opposed the Press Act’s right-of-reply provisions from the outset due to the potential for abuse. It has repeatedly condemned the law contending that such rules could cost newspapers valuable publication time and space, and infringe on editorial independence. IPI has called on Slovak Parliament to scrap the law.
SITA