Prague – Today, the Chamber of Deputies elected former TOP 09 MP Daniel Korte and university teacher Jakub Končelík as new members of the Council of the Czech Press Office (ČTK). The results of the secret election were announced by the chairman of the parliamentary election commission, Martin Kolovratník (ANO). Korte nominated Spolu (ODS, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09) and Končelík, who was proposed by the Pirátů and STAN clubs, were the only candidates.
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The Chamber filled seats in the ČTK Council after Petar Žantovský and Pavlo Foltán, who were nominated in the past by the now opposition ANO movement. At least 61 parliamentary votes were required to be elected today. Korte won 101 and Končelík 105. Žantovský's mandate as a councilor will end on February 28, and Foltán's on March 7. The term of office of their successors will start on March 8.
Končelík works at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University in Prague. He researches the role of the media in a totalitarian society, specializing in the history of the Czech press of the second half of the 20th century. Korte studied classical philology and Czech at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague. Between 2010 and 2017, he was a Member of Parliament. In the past, for example, he was also the chairman of the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting.
The seven-member ČTK Council is a body through which the public exercises its right to control this public media. Its mandate includes, for example, the appointment and dismissal of the director general and the approval of the agency's budget. Candidates for the ČTK Council are proposed by parliamentary clubs.
ČTK was founded in 1918 as a state press agency. Since 1993, it has been a public institution separate from the state in terms of property and economy. The agency receives no subsidies from the state budget, does not collect concessionaire fees and covers all costs from its commercial activities.
