Final Word from Wednesday, November 10, 2010
At Prague's Forum Media, panelists discussed the "charity" business model of publishing and wondered how long Zdeněk Bakala, Petr Kellner, Sebastian Pawlowski and other oligarchs will be willing to prop up their profit-challenged publications. "Charity" is a misnomer in the case of Kellner's Euro and Pawlowski's Týden, where specific examples of business advantage can be traced to the editorial lines taken by the writers. In the case of Bakala's HN, the business bias is less demonstrable, but Boris Šťastný of ODS is on to something when he publicly accuses Bakala's publications of being the mouthpiece of TOP 09. Indeed, HN is more vocal than anyone else about an ODS-ČSSD grand coalition in Prague. With sales falling, HN might even need to bank in the midterm on becoming a sort-of opposition paper, where buying an ad or subscription is seen as a vote against a grand coalition on the national level too.[Czech Republic Hospodářské noviny PPF Copa]
Glossary of difficult words
charity publishing - in this context, the publishing of an unprofitable publication in the interest of serving the public good;
to prop up - to provide support or assistance for someone or something that would otherwise fail or decline;
profit-challenged - a euphemism for loss-making or not very profitable;
misnomer - a wrong or inaccurate use of a name or term;
editorial line - editorial position or bias;
to be on to something - to be on the right track; to discover something;
mouthpiece - a person or organization that speaks on behalf of others;
to bank on - to rely on.