Štefan Hríb

During an era and in a region where citizens distrust the media and are increasingly apathetic about politics and discourse, Štefan Hríb has designed a model of independent news and information delivery that captivates wide audiences. Beginning with a weekly periodical and television series, Štefan is proving that journalism can again be a powerful democratic force in society and can nurture a new generation of critical thinkers.

Štefan is developing new forms of high quality independent media in Slovakia that both set a new standard of journalism and that cultivate a wide audience. In addition, he is training the next generation of journalists to lead a field that has been struggling for decades in Central Europe to remain relevant and ethical. His ultimate goal is to generate greater engagement of citizens around the core issues that affect their country, particularly among youth. Štefan believes a strong avenue for doing so—and for strengthening free democratic society—is an objective, trustworthy, and creative news source. Since the transition, media in Slovakia and throughout Central and Eastern Europe has gone from state control to corporate control—from generating government propaganda to generating tabloid celebrity stories. Over this time it has lost all credibility and is now regarded as little more than a form of entertainment. Stefan has founded a news journal and several television and radio programs as models for restoring journalism to its role as champion of meaningful democratic participation. His acclaimed weekly periodical Týždeň, is proving that journalism can be high quality, independent, objective, ethical, and still commercially sustainable. His innovation lies in the manner and style with which he presents information, pairing discussions of important social issues alongside other topics with mass appeal. All of his content is digestible and meant to encourage every citizen to think and act. Stefan’s rapid success demonstrates that the audience for quality journalism is not gone—rather, it is thirsty for ideas and avenues for engagement.

During the nineteen years that have passed since the collapse of communism, the Slovak media has undergone a number of transformations. Initially after the fall, the media was dominated by former communists who rallied public opinion against necessary reforms and a free regime. In that time, there was not a single independent voice in the media, one of the reasons why Slovakia lagged behind during the transition and the authoritarian regime of Vladimir Mečiar emerged. Nearly all the serious journalists in the country were driven to different work or left the region.

Over the next decade, this void was gradually filled with a younger generation of journalists. However, most lacked the training and professionalism needed for serious journalism. Those coming out of journalism school were ironically the least prepared because it was in those schools that Soviet-trained professors were still infusing their students with ideas and methods from a past era. In addition, these young journalists were pushed around by politicians and business investors, often taking bribes to write pro-politician stories of a particular slant. Both quality and ethical standards had again reached a nadir.

At the same time, investors began financing or buying so-called “independent” media outlets with the hope of making big profits. Just as the media was getting over its communist nostalgia, therefore, it began moving in another destructive direction: One where corporations controlled information and tried to sculpt media into a money-making machine. This meant scandal stories, celebrity stories, and other superficial content lined the front pages, representing a “tabloidization” that pushed most serious journalism out of the market. It also meant increasingly segmented and polarized news content based on the political views of management. And given the small market in Slovakia, if newspapers and journals wanted to compete, they had to fall in line with this tabloid trend and abandon quality, respectability, and often independence, or risk going out of business.

Over this time, journalism in Slovakia has ceased to be a vehicle for protecting and promoting the free-flow of ideas and democracy. It has ceased to be a platform for serious discussion about the most important issues of the day and about the future of the region. For most Slovakians, media has become a source of entertainment, neither serious nor trustworthy, and is viewed as a tool for manipulation rather than a source of independent objective truth.

The most devastating consequence of this story is the decline in citizen discussion and participation—a decline in public awareness and demand for accountability and transparency. This is especially noticeable among youth. The young generation in the region, as elsewhere, is increasingly cynical and apathetic about politics and its relevance to their lives. This group is disillusioned with political decision-making and serious discussion of serious issues. They are not adequately being introduced to positive consequences of political participation, nor are they presented with avenues to become engaged. And yet they represent the future of the region.

Štefan’s strategy is straightforward: Revive journalism by once again making it trustworthy and relevant. Much of this he accomplishes by example, i.e., a weekly journal and television series that are independent and objective and that appeal to the general public. He is also training young journalists who work alongside him and learn about journalistic standards and principles that have been trampled for decades. All of his work is shaped by his desire to engage citizens around the core issues facing Central Europe. For Štefan, a new journalism is the best way to do so.

Štefan has nearly two decades of experience as a journalist and deeply understands the ills that plague the field today. From early in his career, Štefan vowed to be different—to adhere to quality and ethical principles above all else, sometimes putting himself or his job in danger in order to present the truth. His strategy from day one was to write about everything even if it went against his own interests—indeed, more so if that were the case. His reputation grew within the field, and though he was working for one of Slovakia’s more reputable newspapers, Štefan knew that to have a broader impact he would have to work independently.

Štefan founded Týždeň as a weekly periodical that would uphold his personal standards and that he hoped could be a model for successful journalism in a crumbling field. Štefan believed that serious content and mass appeal were not antithetical, and so designed Týždeň with the reader in mind, often mixing politics and culture with sports, travel, and other content in a style that is approachable and digestible. Rather than long essays and commentaries, short, poignant and sometimes hard-hitting pieces are the style. Award-winning photographs accompany stories or sometimes are stories in themselves—meant to entice reader comments and reactions. After just three years, Týždeň is highly respected and has a circulation of 25,000, nearly three times as much as other weekly papers that have been around for over a decade. Týždeň has also gained attention in neighboring Czech Republic and Hungary, in part because of its daring reporting of an attempted Slovakian government cover-up of a group of Slovaks’ attack of a female Hungarian student. Štefan’s goal going forward is to develop Týždeň into a daily paper with a strong online web presence.

In addition, Týždeň is independent yet sustainable, giving it the freedom to produce original, non-conformist content and avoid tabloidization. Its independence is due largely to the way Štefan has approached investors: More as philanthropists than venture capitalists. Most of them know Stefan and his work and understand the need for a new kind of journalism in Slovakia. If profits are made, they agree that such profits can be reinvested into improving the paper, training new journalists, or encouraging public discussion. None are seeking to become famous or gain the influence that owning media might bring them. In fact, investors sign an agreement that guarantees full independence to Štefan, his team, and the content of his newspaper; even if the content is directed at an investor. This kind of independence is critical to regaining the trust of Slovakia’s readers, and is one of the reasons that after just a few years Týždeň has gained recognition and praise from competing political parties as being in a category of its own.

Much of Týždeň’s content is edited by groups of young journalists Štefan is training. Štefan works closely with each student, helping them develop methods for uncovering the “truth” in any story. He stresses how long it takes to gain credibility as a journalist, and also how quickly such credibility can be lost. Štefan emphasizes the need for each student to find his or her “journalism soul” and to never sacrifice it for the sake of fame or recognition and at the expense of truth. By working alongside experienced journalists and editors, students learn in an apprenticeship manner, often given responsibility they normally wouldn’t receive until after spending years at a newspaper. They also come into contact with the pressures and circumstances they will have to learn to resist over their careers.

Týždeň has received wide recognition for its stories, graphics, and photography. Recently it was awarded the Best of Photojournalism 2008 prize, alongside Time and Newsweek. Týždeň is also now becoming sustainable, returning the initial investment to some of its investors, and more importantly, selling enough advertising to survive in the market.

Štefan’s work must be understood beyond a weekly periodical. Týždeň is simply one mechanism among many to test a new direction for journalism and to raise the level of public awareness and discourse in the region. Štefan also produced a public television program that despite its serious content, quickly became one of the most watched programs in Slovakia. Essentially a live moderated discussion forum, with questions and contributions from guests in studio, audience members and callers, each show was meant to be educative but also provocative, drawing out people from all walks of life and encouraging them to think critically. Topics ranged from mathematics to divorce to adoption, and ratings were consistently high. One program on Albert Einstein was rated the “most watched” evening segment of the year by an independent agency measuring the Slovakian TV market. The show on adoptions opened a broad public discussion on the effectiveness of state orphanages and the need for better foster care. Because of its unique format and 3-hour time slots, the show allowed for in-depth discussion. Sadly, after a change in political administration, Štefan decided to stop producing the show because he no longer felt he had the freedom to discuss the topics he wanted to. After he left, the ratings dropped sharply, and the show was cancelled. He is now looking to independently produce a similar show hosted on the internet.

Political interference hasn’t stopped Štefan from developing his idea in different settings. Štefan is now producing a weekly radio discussion program. In addition, he has been testing creative ways to bring political discourse to audiences, particularly young audiences. One has been to organize a number of discussion forums that accompany the most famous rock festival in the country—a festival that attracts more than 30,000 young people each day for a week. Štefan was able to convince the concert’s producers to work with him and set aside special venues for political discussion. Most recently, Štefan invited Vaclav Havel and Joan Baez (her concert was shut down by the secret police when she invited Vaclav Havel on stage during the communist regime) to lead a discussion about democracy and the remaining challenges following the transition. More than 1,500 youth attended the 2-hour discussion.

Štefan deeply believes that all his efforts in journalism are interrelated and connected. He sees the bottom line being to develop a new culture of public discussion after the devastating years of communism where independent thinking was discouraged and punished. Journalism is a tool for being a watchdog and facilitator of this process and from this platform he plans to continue exploring new ways to reach more people and encourage critical thinking and public discourse.

Štefan believes that his models in Slovakia are an example that can be followed across Central Europe. He has worked closely with colleagues in Hungary and Czech Republic, and one member of his team was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the weekly Respekt which is a similar endeavor to Týždeň but in the Czech Republic.

Štefan’s entry into journalism happened almost by accident: The first article he ever got published he wrote to cover for a journalist friend who was leaving for vacation. The story about Mr. Meciar and his attempts to grab power in his hands was meant more as an internal memo, but when it fell in the hands of the Editor-in-Chief of the national daily paper, it was featured on the front page. Štefan quickly realized he had both the mind and the passion for journalism. He became a correspondent for the daily paper, and has been a journalist ever since.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Štefan worked for U.S.-sponsored Radio Free Europe because it was at the time the only option to remain in journalism as an independent critic of Slovakia. In 1997 he became Editor-in-Chief of Domino Forum, Slovakia’s largest weekly paper. These were very turbulent times for Slovakia when Prime Minister Meciar was trying to slow down all democratic changes. Štefan is very well-known for a story when several elderly female admirers of Meciar tried to beat him with their umbrellas for his opinions published in different papers. A few years later Štefan published a key article that uncovered hidden bribes that journalists were taking to write favorable articles for specific politicians. He was known as someone who would never back down.

Despite of all this, or perhaps thanks to it, Štefan was able to convince group of investors to start a new weekly, Týždeň, and gather a group of journalists interested in building a new direction for journalism in Slovakia. His goal as a journalist has always been to bring about change in the common opinion in Slovakia that was anti-split, anti-west, anti-new directions, and in some cases, anti-Semitic. Štefan recognized that journalism can and should be used as a mechanism to engage citizens, rather than simply inform them, and hopes to continue pursuing creative avenues over the next decade.