Newly appointed managers at Czech Television fired 20 rebellious journalists yesterday as they struggled to seize control of the public service station's news from staff occupying the newsroom.
Czech Television employees are refusing to recognise last week's nomination of Mr Jiri Hodac as the new director general, saying they fear he would give in to politicians' attempts to interfere with news output.
There was no sign of an end to the battle yesterday and Mr Hodac's newly appointed news director, Ms Jana Bobosikova, repeated a warning that she might use force to clear the newsroom. The station's security service has so far refused to take action. Police have also refused to intervene.
The rebel journalists and the new management currently prepare rival newscasts. The executives control terrestrial transmitters and block signals coming from the newsroom, but local media say the "rebel" versions can still be seen on satellite and cable.
The journalists say Mr Hodac would bring the station under the influence of politicians, mainly the opposition Civic Democrats (ODS) of former prime minister Mr Vaclav Klaus, for whom Ms Bobosikova briefly worked as an adviser. The staff rebels have won backing from many public figures. About 1,000 supporters of their cause rallied outside the news studios on Monday.
