Some protesters wore pointed hats folded out of newspapers as a tribute to an animated character, Večerníček, who has introduced Czech Television’s nightly children’s bedtime stories for decades.
Critics have compared the government’s media bill to changes in Hungary under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who tightly controlled state media when he was in power.
Prime Minister Andrej Babis was appointed in December in 2025, and has faced criticism over his coalition’s attacks on Czech media.
“Political attacks against private and public media have become one of the hallmarks of Andrej Babis’ premiership,” said Pavol Szalai, Prague Bureau director of international press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders, in June.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
