The Czech foreign broadcaster Radio Prague International is celebrating its 90th anniversary with an exhibition. But its future is uncertain in view of the cuts announced by the new right-wing government under Prime Minister and billionaire Andrej Babis. "That would really mean that this year's 90th season would very likely be the last and final one, which none of us would wish for," said the general director of Czech Radio, René Zavoral. The station has a particularly large number of loyal listeners in eastern Germany, said Till Janzer, head of the German-language editorial team. They regularly receive mail and read from the letters in a radio show. "People respond to all kinds of topics, travel suggestions for example, but also political issues," reported Janzer. Some listeners even come to visit the radio station in person. "And we like to let them tell their stories because some of them have a really long history with us." In the anniversary exhibition in the "Galerie Vinohradska 12" in the basement of the main building of Czech Radio, visitors can learn a lot about the history and personalities of the station. Radio Prague began broadcasting on shortwave on August 31, 1936, not least to counteract Nazi propaganda. Today, there are programs in Czech, German, English, French, Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian. The most important distribution medium is now the internet, in the form of podcasts and texts. The new Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka announced in a political talk show that he would be reducing the subsidies from his ministry's budget by a quarter this year. Next year, he wants to cut funding for foreign broadcasting completely from the equivalent of around 1.4 million euros. Macinka is a member of the right-wing Motorists party. The plans have been criticized by the non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders, among others. Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reservedDedicated listeners
Programs in many languages
Cuts threatening the existence of the organization
