Getting the message across: PANEL II (16. 10. 2019)

Archive record 17/10/19

The role of the foreign media in the build-up to the Velvet Revolution in 1989 was an important part of the dramatic events of the annus mirabilis. Through the reports and broadcasts of a small number of reporters based in Czechoslovakia, the world had an opportunity to learn about the growing resistance to the communist regime from activists, eye-witnesses and observers. From the beginning of 1989, the reporting of foreign journalists in Prague became an essential feature in the efforts of the opposition to the regime to organize and attract broader support. Foreign journalists also played an important part in covering the drama of the Velvet Revolution and conveying its significance to the Western and global audiences, and in reporting on the first steps of the new, democratic government. The special event in the Václav Havel Library brought together some of the journalists who covered the events and their memories. PANEL 2 Correspondents of Press: Alison Smale, former chief East Europe correspondent of Associated Press, outgoing UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, Colin McIntyre, former chief East Europe correspondent of Reuters, currently a consultant to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Michael Žantovský, former Prague correspondent of Reuters. Moderator: Jakub Szántó, former Czech TV Middle East correspondent and author.


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