Comparing Czech and Slovak council newspapers’ policy and regulation development

Abstract

Council newspapers form an integral part of European media systems and, as such, have been analysed for their important contribution to the development of local politics. However, despite a recognition of the media’s important democratic function in the transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) after the fall of socialism, the consideration of council newspapers’ political role in the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been largely absent in debates surrounding the development of regulatory frameworks until recently. Interestingly, debates regarding local government transparency emerged recently (2011) in the United Kingdom, resulting in the Code of recommended practice on local authority publicity, underscoring the importance of this issue. However, developments in the aforementioned situations demonstrate divergent outcomes in such considerations: the British addressed the causes, the Czechs addressed the symptoms, and the Slovaks have yet to make any headway. This article utilizes qualitative analysis of policy and regulation documents to compare the trajectories of media policy and regulation of council publicity in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, ultimately contrasting it with developments in the UK, suggesting possible future trajectories for the development of this type of regulation in the CEE countries.