Cestmir Franek has been appointed the first ombudsman for the Czech public broadcaster Ceska Televize (CT), effective August 1.
Commenting on the development, Petr Dvorak, the head of CT, said: “After the establishment of the Audience Council, which brings together 60 personalities representing important Czech institutions and associations, the ombudsman will become another independent authority to strengthen CT’s communication with the public”.
Cestmir Franek has worked in the media for over 35 years and is currently the deputy editor-in-chief of CT news for analytical and discussion programmes.
As a result of his appointment, CT will join a growing list of European public broadcasters, including the BBC, that has an ombudsmen.