The Czech government approved a plan to change how public media receives funding despite strong public opposition.
The Czech Republic government moved forward with a new media funding plan. Lawmakers held an overnight vote on Saturday to advance the bill.
Currently, households pay a monthly fee of 205 crowns for public broadcasting. The new law plans to replace this fee with money from the state budget.
Prime Minister Andrej Babis leads this effort. He promised to remove the fee before he took office last December.
Also, the government claims this change helps poorer families. They say it encourages media outlets to work more efficiently.
However, many people worry about the independence of broadcasters. Critics fear the state budget funding will give the government too much control.
Meanwhile, public media employees held a strike in June. They believe these changes make news outlets vulnerable to political pressure.
Opposition politicians raised concerns about the plan. They compared these reforms to media changes seen in neighboring Hungary.
Still, Prime Minister Babis denies any plan to nationalize the media. He insists there is no war against independent news organizations.
The proposal includes a 15 percent funding cut for Czech Television and Czech Radio. It also freezes funding levels for several years.
Next, a local civic group plans a protest this Sunday. Journalists also scheduled another strike for November 3.
Finally, the public continues to trust these media outlets. Czech Television remains the most popular broadcaster for many citizens.