Should I pay for propaganda?

Critical moments in the political field are an excellent test, how well balanced broadcasting stations are stransmitting information to the audience. Exposure in our technology age is very high, and one can easily compare various networks with eachother and verify different sources. A single propaganda channel - as was pehaps common more than 20 years ago at this side of the Iron Curtain - is no longer the case (unless you live in North Korea perhaps).

Yet, there is an observation, which I would like to highlight. Like most countries, Slovakia too has a national broadcaster (STV and SRo, respectively - as you might guess somewhat: the Slovak Television and the Slovak Radio). Equally this holds for the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands or any other country that is. In comparison with the said countries, the national TV and Radio stations have a big deficiency, which expecially during the last few weeks became quite apparent; objective news.

True is, that we have currently far more access to news through the internet for example, yet one would expect that a public broadcasting corporation like the said STV and SRo, are intended to serve the broad public. Especially for providing information, and the reason why these networks have it as a given obligation is that - like government - they are paid by compulsory fees levied to be paid by individual households, irrespective whether they indeed make use of them. At least in Britain, one only pays a licence fee, if one owns a TV. IN Slovakia one pays, in the event you have electricity in the house.

In one of my earlier blogs, I have already mentioned the fact, that generally speaking I miss quality journalism, where contents of society's probems and politics are analytically presented, be it in a form of discussion or an one-to-one interview. Whatever. More and more it became apparent how servile journalists behave in comparison to their colleagues abroad (with a few exceptions I must say, but this is limitied to one handful).

While one can expect private networks, sponsored by major commercial companies, to have a specific preference - progressive, conservative, denominational or whichever other identity, I would prefer that those whom I have to sponsor by law, not to behave like a propaganda machine for the sitting government, as has been the case in recent months. When comparing which newsitems received wich priority, howmany minutes spent on each item, it is giving a clear picture on the overall trend within the public news branch.

During the recent turbulent days of demonstrations against the government scandals, although the events got a major dynamism through Facebook, when talking to people in the street, even relatives, hardly anyone seemed to notice - or even realising the real background of the uproar.

It is therefore slightly disturbing, that by law, the public stations are required to give objective news, by law I am obliged to pay for them, but the public stations do nto adhere to this law. The next step is, that I shall appeal against these fees, since the public networks have breached the law. No state should force its citizens to pay for unwanted propaganda. At least not in the EU, I would say.

MS