Final Word from Monday, September 8, 2014
After Blesk gave Andrej Babiš so much flattering coverage over the summer, it was only just that MFD return the favor with a two-page spread last week featuring a smiling Daniel Křetínský. The key information was that he and Martin Roman (as EPH) are still in business with Petr Kellner, although Roman's name was of course not mentioned. The most hilarious part was Křetínský's declaration that his entry into the media was a "civic gesture." As though it were in the public's interest for him and Roman to cherry-pick ČEZ assets and to use some of the money to buy Ringier. But Křetínský isn't joking. By predicting in Babiš's MFD that only two full-fledged news centers (plus Czech TV and perhaps Seznam) will survive, he was basically throwing down the gauntlet to Savov's Mladá fronta, Soukup's Empresa and Bakala's Economia. Roman/Křetínský and Babiš plan to divvy up the market ... for the good of society. [Czech Republic Mafra Czech News Center Holding Axel Springer CZ Zdeněk František Jaromír PPF]
Glossary of difficult words
spread - an article or advertisement covering several columns or pages of a newspaper or magazine, esp. one on two facing pages;
hilarious - extremely amusing; very funny;
to cherry-pick - to selectively choose (the most beneficial items) from what is available;
to throw down the gauntlet - to issue a challenge;
to divvy up - to divide and share.