Nový portál Česká pozice píše: "Příštím velvyslancem v USA se podle několika důvěryhodných zdrojů má stát poslanec ODS a exministr zemědělství Petr Gandalovič". Prý jen čeká na prověrku. Mám strach, že pokud si bývalý ministr zemědělství v USA najde tak dobré kamarády jako v Česku, může to dotáhnout až do Bílého domu. Hlavně je o něm potřeba psát jen dobré zprávy.
----
from Fabiano Golgo
to Jan Čulík
date Tue, Jun 12, 2007 5:45 PM
subject Politics in Metro

The Managing Director of Metro CZ came to tell me that I have to constantly write good news about minister Gandalovic. And he added Milena Kozumplikova, starostka Prahy 3, and all Plzen ODS. These subjects should be subject to special treatment: no bad news. He also TRIED to forbid me last week to publish the news that Paroubek lost in court against Mafra the right of answer to some article. I was told that Paroubek/CSSD gives "us" 3 million under the carpet! I will not collaborate with this! We had a huge fight, where I told him that I am not a prostitute and will never print any news based on his wishes. That my team and I make daily mistakes, but never out of malice. Amazing! These people play golf together and then start a mob!
-----

This is the report I sent Metro International in 2007, where I mention the obligation of writing only good news about your future ambassador...


METRO CZ

REPORT

by Fabiano Golgo, editor-in-chief

Metro Czech Republic




CONTENTS:

A. Introduction


1. CORRUPTION

1.1 big brother

1.1a spying the auditor

1.1b framing the auditor

1.1c sneaking in

2. AGAINST RULES

2.1 advertorials gallore

2.1a contradictory orders

2.1b open ads as editorial content

2.1c repeats

2.1d sabotaging metro intl

2.2 directing the newspaper

2.2a md picks pics

2.2b front page by md

2.2c no motorism allowed

2.2d metro golf cup

2.2e comic strip censored by md

2.2f the czech way

2.2g md's magazine

2.2h md forbid czech football and hockey

2.2.3 political influence

2.2.3a md's favorite minister

2.2.3b old politician, old photo

2.2.3c right wing metro cz

3. MISMANAGEMENT

3.1 11am deadline

3.2 who won the world cup?

3.3 cheating on advertiser



INTRODUCTION

These past few weeks have been very enlightening about what my
obligations and responsibilities are, according to Metro
International. Until now, I had been conned into believing completelly
diferent rules, by Metro Czech Republic.

I prepared this expose' that addresses only the most evident anomalies
in the Czech administration of Metro, nevertheless a more in-depth
detailed account can be obtained orally, for the list of malpractices
is very long and full of nuances.

There is an atmosphere here of cheating on Metro International, which
is propelled and enforced by the local management.

To corroborate many of the facts exposed below, I have an archive of
newspapers with the incriminating pieces and some emails proving the
breaking of important Metro guidelines.

I took this initiative because my obligation is to inform the top
management of the company whenever there is a breaking of rules by the
local management or coercion over me to do so.



1. CORRUPTION

1.1 BIG BROTHER

Czech Law allows it, but Metro does not:

1.1a SPYING THE AUDITOR

There was open talk in the management meeting on 28th May/2007 of
establishing a system that would first send the emails from the
auditor sent by Metro International to the MD and Traffic manager, so
as to monitor her findings. Were present financial director Lenka
Tomanova (who claims she thought it was just a joke), Traffic manager
Jan Kolousek, distribution manager Martin Sedlak and marketing manager
Ales Pycha. I warned deputy global editor-in-chief Aleksander Korab
(based in London) about it and later the auditor herself.

1.1b FRAMING THE AUDITOR

Previous knowledge of auditor's "mistake", announced to Jiri Suchy by
Jan Kolousek, purposedly not informed, with the intention of
discrediting her in case of any findings of wrongdoings (and the added
question over whether he knew of it from sneaking into her emails);

1.1c SNEAKING IN

There was an official order by MD, in March, to announce in newsroom
that their computers could be from time to time "looked at" by Traffic
manager to check if they were not "sending pictures non related to
work to each other" [translated exact quote]; why the Traffic manager
has this as a function is unclear;

2. AGAINST RULES

2.1 ADVERTORIALS GALLORE

Sales and Marketing departments take vast chunks of the newspaper to
advertise products and people, openly and publicly disrespecting Metro
rules:

2.1a CONTRADICTORY ORDERS

While I was informed in a joint meeting with Martin Alsander and
Aleksander Korab that my obligation was to safeguard the independence
of Metro content and seek quality as my top objective, in the
immediate aftermath the Czech Managing Director Martin Konrad called
for a one-to-one meeting.

In it, MD informed that he had two points he wanted to "state":

First, that Martin Alsander had actually fine tuned what I had
heard in the joint meeting and that "it is me who fires you, not
Metro International, so you will do as told" [exact translated
quote].

Second: that the advertorials (which had been openly forbidden
in the meeting with Metro Internaltional representants) would
continue, for "Czech Republic is not Sweden and we cannot survive
without them" [shortened translated quote].

In 2006, after the meeting of editors-in-chief in Barcelona, and after
discussing the problem of direct management by MD over the editorial
content with global editor-in-chief Sakari Pitkanen and Central Europe
director Istvan Gabor, I told MD that he should let me make the
editorial decisions.

He refused and argued that if he was told to do so by Metro
International, then he would quit.

He expressed the belief that Metro International would not go through
the complicated process of finding a new MD, over an editor-in-chief's
independence;

2.1b OPEN ADS AS EDITORIAL CONTENT

As one example, Nike company gets their new tennis shoes in 1/3 page
falsely editorial articles;

2.1c REPEATS

All articles in sections Health and Style, New Job and Schools are
non-veiled advertisement pieces, often full copies of their website
texts. The same text is often asked to be printed more than one time,
about a month apart from last publication;

The same happens with certain events from Marketing department. They
make contracts promising half pages that we are then supposed to print
three days in a row, keeping us to use the limited space in accordance
to the reader's needs;

2.1d SABOTAGING METRO INTL.

As of Thursday, 7th June, no one from Sales department had been
informed that there were new rules for advertorials, firmly believing
that they should continue to offer clients interviews with them and/or
editorial articles about their products;

2.2 DIRECTING THE NEWSPAPER

In blatant confrontation against what had been informed by Martin
Alsander about the balance of powers in the structure of Metro, the MD
came to the newsroom to order that I should not have printed the news
about the former prime minister losing a court battle against the top
newspaper of the country, in an issue that involved Freedom of the
Press Law and constitutional rights.

That piece of news was the second most important of the day in
all other print and electronic news outlets, but still we should not
ever print the name of the most known newspaper in the country.

He then said I should take as model the tabloid daily Blesk, that
those were my readers.

When I refused to accept to follow his directive, he warned I was
making a mistake.

I subsequently consulted with Aleksander Korab, who confirmed that I
was absolutely right in publishing that piece of news and that MD was
wrong about not citing other newspapers, if they are part of the news;

2.2a MD PICKS PICS

MD wants to have the power to directly decide which picture should be
used in the front page;

2.2b FRONT PAGE BY MD

MD summoned front page editor to his office and "taught" him how he
should do it, including the order to make it "very colourful, because
it is tabloid that Czechs want" [unverified translation by a third
person];

2.2c NO MOTORISM ALLOWED

MD repeatedly prohibited articles about motorism, because "nobody
cares about car racing sports" [exact translation quote]. MD wanted me
to fire Sports editor for daring to continue to write about the
subject;

2.2d METRO GOLF CUP

We were ordered to print a picture of MD and a second participant of
so-called Metro Golf Cup. Golf is not Sarah's sport and is actually a
hated symbol in Czech Republic. A Golf Cup could attract clients, but
does not have to be resonanted among readers;

2.2e COMIC STRIP CENSORED BY MD

MD directly forbid me to have a comic strip in the newspaper.

He personally disliked our choice of a character called Pinzetti,
locally produced by a well-known young cartoonist, celebrated in TV
shows and highly popular among our readers.

MD and Traffic manager spent three months making pressure until I was
told in a meeting with both that I should - by the 1st day of the
following month - extract that comics strip, period.

Then I was requested to substitute the strip for a copy of what
the tabloid Blesk has: a semi-naked woman telling a semi-sexual joke.

I ignored the order and substituted it for a children's corner (a
little game for those under 13, which I believe will lead mothers,
grandmothers and guilty absent fathers to keep Metro and bring it home
at night, thus expanding our readership per copy);

2.2f THE CZECH WAY

MD unilaterally decided to change the layout of Metro last Summer.
After informed that it would probably not be according to the rules,
it was decided to go ahead with it anyway;

2.2g MD'S MAGAZINE

MD decided page by page of the new lifestyle magazine Women Only/Men
Only in a meeting last week;

2.2h MD FORBID CZECH FOOTBALL AND HOCKEY

Because of our current deadlines we are the only media in Czech
Republic that cannot tell the results of all top Football and Hockey
games. So the MD gave the express order to IGNORE them and write about
the English League. The Sports editor refuses, so I have been told to
fire him and simply do it;


2.2.3 POLITICAL INFLUENCE

2.2.3a MD'S FAVORITE MINISTER

MD made repeated requests that his friend Minister Gandalovic should
be cited favorably in the newspaper. And that I should actually find
news about him on the wires, to keep him in the public eye;

2.2.3b OLD POLITICIAN, OLD PHOTO

We were ordered to print a photobox with the picture of co-mayor of
Prague 3, Milena Kozumplikova, and a long text about her and car
company Skoda, even though the photo was about news that happened
three days earlier. And the lenght of the text broke the Metro rules
about photo captures by three times its accepted size;

2.2.3c RIGHT WING METRO CZ

MD gave express orders to not write unfavorably against right wing
ruling party ODS in Plzen area;


MD also contracted the services of a PR agency of Plzen, which is
connected to local ODS government, for 20 thousand crowns monthly.
What the agency sends as material, which we are forced to publish,
often includes open propaganda for that party or the unashamed
advertisement for some Plzen company;

3. MISMANAGEMENT

3.1 11am DEADLINE

Two weeks in a roll the newsroom had to finish the 8 editions at 11 in
the morning, because of a Peugeot ad that was to be manually glued to
the front page. That would be fine if we had profitted from the ad.

However, the cost of printing and glueing the ad, thanks to a
mistake by the Sales dept, was zero.

So the newspaper went out to 300 thousand people with very old news
without at least a financial injection that would justify it.

Nobody was punished, nor compensation was offered for the unprecedent
overnight shift the editors had to endure after a normal 9-hour
workday;

3.2 WHO WON THE WORLD CUP?

The 2006 World Cup daily special edition did not originally count with
a final issue on the day after the final. MD and Sales had not planned
it. After pressure, a limited issue with the World Cup champions and
the last day of the event were reported. That shows a total disregard
for the long term necessities of the newspaper, such as offering
quality, reliability and consistency, in favor of short term results
in numbers;

3.3 CHEATING ON OUR ADVERTISER

Because Sales people were not aware that our deadline for finishing
the newspaper is 4pm for regions and 6pm for Prague, a front page ad
announcing the latest lottery ammounts was sold, even though the
numbers become official only at 7pm!

Thus, the MD decided that we should print the previous week's lottery
number on the front page of regional editions and send the Prague
edition an hour late.

The newsroom refused to write the wrong number in the regions, so the
Traffic department was required to do so, considering nobody wanted to
be liable for some illegal act.

Sales person Roman Smejkal was in shock with the management
decision of printing the old number, to no avail.

===========

P.S. = Zcenzurováný článek z Aktuálně.cz je tady: http://fabianogolgo.blogspot.com/

A teď prosím Ivetu
http://blog.aktualne.centrum.cz/blogy/fabiano-golgo.php?itemid=1139