Final Word from Monday, August 7, 2017

Michael Rozsypal of Czech Radio doesn't go out of his way to cause conflict, but he made Jaroslav Plesl of MFD raise his voice by saying in May that politicians never call him to complain. "Then you must not do your job well," a riled-up Plesl fired back. Plesl said that Miroslav Kalousek and other politicians had called him dozens or even hundreds of times in recent years. Alexandr Mitrofanov of Právo indirectly came to Plesl's defense on Sat., telling another non-conflictual journalist, Barbora Tachecí of Czech Radio, that Kalousek had called him a few times and sent SMSes before they moved to other forms of communication (mainly Twitter). What are suspicious voters supposed to make of this? Except in cases where there is an immoral or illegal quid pro quo, such interactions serve legitimate purposes. Reporters get information, and politicians make themselves seem more human. It's a thin line, but the most skillful journalists and politicians know how to walk it. [Czech Republic Plus Český rozhlas]