- Title: CZECH REPUBLIC: Unique Roma TV channel reaches out to community
- Date: 7th April 2011
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) ROMEA TV AND WEBSITE FOUNDER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ZDENEK RYSAVY, SAYING: "The Civic Union Romea was founded at the end of 2002 and we wanted to make media activity the focus. We started by publishing a journal along with the server Romea.cz. From the beginning we wanted to be a colourful website, so already in 2003 we included a lot of music coverage."
- Embargoed: 22nd April 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Czech Republic, Czech Republic
- Country: Czech Republic
- Topics: Communications,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA6EYQ7FXE92Z4402WOJI7T2E3R
- Story Text: Just another day for chief editor, Zdenek Rysavy as he coordinates his small VJ team for the interview, prepares the rundown and gets the day's shows edited. But it's not just another web TV channel, it is the Czech Republic's first and only TV station specifically for and about the country's Roma community.
The 'Hiri' news programme shown in the Roma language with subtitles has just kicked off and Rysavy takes a breather.
Romea TV, was founded alongside the Romea.CZ website in December 2002 by Rysavy and co-editor Jarka Balazova as way to bring news and entertainment to the nearly 200,000-strong Roma community in the Czech Republic.
"We provide space under each of the articles for readers to respond and have a discussion. It is a space for Roma people and other members of the community to discuss all sorts of current affairs. Of course there are sometimes racist notes, just like on any other site but we want to have an open space for discussion anyway," said Rysavy.
The two main programmes are the newsy Hiri and 'Desetiminutovka' (ten minutes) which shows interviews.
"We try to include the main problems facing the Roma community in our reports, as this is difficult to do in mainstream media. We look at education, employment opportunities and discrimination which exists," Balazova told Reuters TV.
But the show is not all about negative discrimination. It features popular music and stories about ordinary people.
"We don't want to be only negative so we are trying to be a positive influence for Roma readers and viewers. We put in pieces on successful Roma people, not just the people working in intellectual fields but someone who has worked as a dustman for 30 years and done a great job," Balazova added.
The director of the government board for the Roma minority, Gabriela Hrabanova has just dropped into the studio to give an interview and give her blessing to the work the station is doing.
"I think this is a very good activity because it brings lots of events happening around the place to the Roma people. For example they show conferences and seminars and for example a very good report on the Nazi demonstration in Novy Bydzov. These are the moments when Roma TV is very useful," Hrabanova said.
Daily views of Romea's site are around 2,500 a day, not as many as Romea would like - in part due to the fact that many Roma families don't have computers at home.
The TV channel has met with a largely positive response within the Roma community, who are particularly glad to see the Roma culture being shown in a more positive light than the usual negative headlines.
"I like this TV station because it shows Roma culture without distorting it. Other TV stations only cover the 'bad' Roma people and ignore the good. They cover only what they want to, what suits them!" Prague resident Jan Buchil said.
"We want people to know that we are not just Roma or gypsies but that we are people. They should look at us differently. We have lived here since childhood, we were born here," a Smichov resident added. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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