Attacks on media: Lessons from Slovakia and Slovenia

Join us for an online discussion on  strategies and practices of civil society and journalist’s alliance and resilience amid attacks on independent and public media.

The discussion will focus on the recent political attacks on public broadcasters and independent media under the current Slovak government and the previous Slovenian government. It will facilitate exchange of experiences and  lessons learned between journalists and activists from Slovakia and Slovenia engaged  in defending media freedom and civic space. Our goal is to create a platform for cross-border mutual learning and support to better counteract attacks.

The event will begin with a brief overview of the current situation in Slovakia, followed by a discussion on the resilience strategies and practices. This will be followed by the Slovenian example, highlighting their journey and the lessons learned from the situation two years ago. Questions from the audience will be welcome in the final part of the event.

The discussion will be online, more information soon.

Moderators: Brankica Petković and Tjaša Turnšek (The Peace Institute)

Agenda and speakers

Introduction by Tjaša Turnšek, The Peace Institute

Presentations of country cases

• Lukáš Diko, a Slovak investigative journalist, currently editor-in-chief of the Investigative Center of Ján Kuciak, which carries out domestic and foreign investigative projects, deals with the protection of journalists and participates in the education of investigative journalists. He started at Denník SME and worked at Radio Twist. He was editor-in-chief of news at the Markíza television station, and later director of news and journalism at the then public broadcaster RTVS.
• Juraj Rizman, a long-time member of Greenpeace and Via Iuris. He also worked as a coordinator of the platform of Slovak environmental organisations Ecoforum, co-founder of the Green Coalition. He was a long-time member of the Government Council for Non-Governmental Non-Profit Organisations. He has participated in many campaigns in Slovakia, as well as in campaigns in Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia. He works as a consultant for NGOs in the field of civil campaigns and communication. Since 2023 he works as the Director of Communication and PR for Post Bellum SK. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Civic Platform for Democracy.

• Helena Milinković is a journalist and the president of Coordination of journalists unions at RTVS and was the leader of the strike committee at the Slovenian public broadcaster, RTV Slovenia. In 2022, she was a key organizer of strike activities at RTV Slovenia, where journalists protested against political pressures and interference in the broadcaster’s independence. She actively participated in efforts to depoliticize the public broadcaster’s leadership, including supporting legislative changes that were approved in the referendum.

• Špela Stare is the General Secretary of the Slovene Association of Journalists, whose efforts are part of a broader civil society movement striving to preserve media independence. The association was particularly engaged in the 2022 referendum, supporting changes aimed at depoliticizing the leadership and improving the functioning of the Slovene public broadcaster, RTV Slovenia.