''Reflex'' is a Czech weekly magazine focusing on political, social and cultural topics. It was founded in 1990 and is currently owned by company Czech News Center. It is one of the Czech Republic's most controversial and widely read social-political magazines; its print circulation of 60,000 copies (as of January, 2010) reaches approximately 270,000 readers. Polls conducted by the Czech Publishers Association (''Unie vydavatelů'') in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 placed ''Reflex'' first in its category.

Background

''Reflex'' was founded in 1990 following the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. Its first

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

, Petr Hájek and a group of promising, like-minded Czech journalists established its combination of political news journal and life style magazine. The result was an original and distinctively Czech approach to current affairs. Hájek's ideas and format were vindicated as Reflex gradually created its own niche within an expanding and increasingly competitive market for Czech periodicals. In 1993 Hájek won the disapproval of some of his colleagues when he sold Reflex to the Swiss corporation Ringier without prior consultation:

Josef Klíma Josef Klíma (3 June 1911 – 16 February 2007) was a Czech basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as th ...

, a co-founder of ''Reflex'' and a prominent Czech investigative journalist, remembers Hájek as ''"the greatest disappointment in my life"'' Hájek left to work as a media consultant in marketing and advertising. From 2003 - 2008 he was campaigner and spokesman for his long-standing political ally,

Czech President The president of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The president mostly has ceremonial powers as the day-to-day business of the executive governm ...

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

. In 1995, Ringier appointed

Petr Bílek Petr is a Czech given name for males and a Czech surname. Petr is the Czech form of ''Peter''. For information on Petr as a first name, see Peter (given name). Given name * Petr Aven (born 1955), Russian billionaire banker, economist and polit ...

as ''Reflex editor-in-chief. During Bilek's 13 year tenure the magazine's style and orientation shifted profoundly. According to him, Reflex's position in the early 1990s was ''"idyllic, due to non-existent competition"''. Its early editions ran to around 200,000 copies; ''Reflex'' and a single significant competitor, ''

Respekt ''Respekt'' is a Czech weekly newsmagazine published in Prague, the Czech Republic, reporting on domestic and foreign political and economic issues, as well as on science and culture. History and profile ''Respekt'' was founded very ...

'', dominated the free media market. According to Bílek, early ''Reflex'' journalism was founded on a ''"very uncompromising"'', critical approach to Czechoslovakia's communist past and the surviving remnants of communist attitudes and institutions. As Czech society changed, ''Reflex'' kept pace under Bilek, whose editorial policy shifted focus away from the past towards contemporary political events and social changes but its earlier "idyllic" position was eroded by an increasingly competitive, diversified market. Part of its earlier readership was apparently lost to a revamped and modernised ''Respekt'' but it retained a substantial share of the market and remains popular with readers and advertisers: independent estimates found a likely target readership of approximately 270,000 for its January 2010 print circulation of 60,000 copies, making it the most successful advertising vehicle of 2010 among Czech political-social magazines. In 2008, Bílek stepped down. He was replaced by Pavel Šafr, former editor-in-chief of the newspapers ''

Mladá fronta DNES ''Mladá fronta Dnes'' (''Young Front Today''), also known as ''MF DNES'' or simply ''Dnes'' (''Today''), is a daily newspaper in the Czech Republic.Lidové noviny ''Lidové noviny'' (''People's News'', or ''The People's Newspaper'', ) is a daily newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily still in print, and a newspaper of record. ''Reflex'' has been described as conservative and anti-leftist; its 20th anniversary issue included a manifesto against left-wing ideology and

Czech Social Democratic Party The Czech Social Democratic Party ( cs, Česká strana sociálně demokratická, ČSSD, ) is a social-democratic political party in the Czech Republic. Sitting on the centre-left of the political spectrum and holding pro-European views, it is a ...

politics. On the website Britské listy, Czech media expert

Jan Čulík Jan Čulík (born 2 November 1952 in Prague) is a Czech academic and independent journalist. He is the founder and editor of the independent Czech Internet daily ''Britské listy'' since 1996. Early career Čulík is a graduate of Czech studi ...

positions it between tabloid commercialism and quality journalism. Jiří Pehe describes it as popular but untrustworthy, a

right-leaning Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

and rather pro- Civic Democratic Party forum.

Content and controversy

''Reflex'' regularly covers controversial political and social issues in a controversial manner. Regular ''Reflex'' contributor

Jiří X. Doležal Jiří (; ''YI-RZHEE''), the Czech is a masculine given name, equivalent to English George, may refer to: Given name B * Jiří Antonín Benda * Jiří Baborovský * Jiří Barta * Jiří Bartoška *Jiří Bicek *Jiří Bobok * Jiří Bubla * ...

campaigned for the decriminalization of small growers and users of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternativel ...

, and organised an annual contest through the magazine. A ''Reflex Cannabis Cup'' was awarded for the best reader's photos of home grown cannabis. In 2010, the Czech legislature adopted more tolerant cannabis laws; Doležal announced the end of the contest: ''"...in future, the contest should be organized by the cannabis business, not by a social magazine"''. Some of magazine's covers have made controversial suggestions about prominent figures in Czech public life and politics. ''"Kontroverzní titulní strany jsou pro Reflex novou strategií."'' In 2001, ''Zelený Raoul'', a ''Reflex'' satirical comic strip illustrated by

Štěpán Mareš Štěpán �ʃcɛpaːnis both a masculine Czech given name, equivalent of English Stephen, and a Czech surname. Notable people with the name include: Given names * Štěpán Hřebejk (b. 1982), Czech ice hockey player * Štěpán Janáček (b. 197 ...

, showed the former Social-democratic minister

Karel Březina Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley, talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel, Dutch painter Business * Karel Electronics, a Turkish electronics manufacturer * Gr ...

in a naked sexual embrace with his wife, the writer

Bára Nesvadbová Barbara Nesvadbová, born Barbara Nesvadbová (January 14, 1975, Prague), is a Czech writer and journalist. Biography Barbara was born in Prague into a family of doctors, both psychiatrists. Mother Libuše Nesvadbová is involved with assistin ...

. Březina sued, and won damages and a public apology.

AAA Auto Praha

In 2002, ''Reflex'' reported alleged malpractice by ''AAA Auto Praha'', a major Czech

used car A used car, a pre-owned vehicle, or a secondhand car, is a vehicle that has previously had one or more retail owners. Used cars are sold through a variety of outlets, including franchise and independent car dealers, rental car companies, buy ...

dealership. Copies of the magazine sold unusually fast: this led to speculation in the major national media (

Czech Television Czech Television ( cs, Česká televize, italics=no ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting seven channels. Established after the Velvet Revolution in 1992, it is the successor to Czechoslov ...

, ''

Blesk ''Blesk'' is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. Its name translates as ''lightning''. History and profile ''Blesk'' was first published on 14 April 1991. In 1992, it launched a weekly edition published on Sunday ...

'', and ''

Mladá fronta DNES ''Mladá fronta Dnes'' (''Young Front Today''), also known as ''MF DNES'' or simply ''Dnes'' (''Today''), is a daily newspaper in the Czech Republic.print run Print circulation is the average number of copies of a publication. The number of copies of a non-periodical publication (such as a book) are usually called print run. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulat ...

to avoid public exposure. Anthony James Denny, general manager of the company, denied all the allegations. ''Reflex'' reprinted the original report in its next issue.

Jiří Paroubek

Jiří Paroubek Jiří Paroubek (; born 21 August 1952) is a Czech politician, who was the prime minister of the Czech Republic from April 2005 to August 2006. He was also the leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) from 2006 until his resignation ...

, former

Czech Prime Minister The prime minister of the Czech Republic (Czech: ''Předseda vlády České republiky'') is the head of the government of the Czech Republic. The prime minister is the de-facto leader of the executive branch, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ...

and current Chairman of the

(ČSSD), was involved in a lawsuit against ''Reflex''. In 2009, the magazine published a report describing Paroubek's election campaign as an attempt to employ his private life as a part of political marketing. According to ''Reflex'', the carefree marriage and the proliferating family were the main trump cards in the Paroubek's election campaign, instead of political ideas. Additionally, ''Reflex'' published an article comparing the developing pregnancy of Paroubek's wife (Petra Paroubková) with political developments in the Czech Republic. The magazine cover posed images of Paroubek and his wife in simulation of a well-known 1980 photo of

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

. According to Paroubek, the article so seriously disturbed his pregnant wife that she had to be hospitalized. Petra Paroubková sued Reflex in her own right in 2009, when she and her husband were intimately depicted in the

Zelený Raoul ''Reflex'' is a Czech weekly magazine focusing on political, social and cultural topics. It was founded in 1990 and is currently owned by company Czech News Center. It is one of the Czech Republic's most controversial and widely read social-polit ...

comic strip. Paroubková labelled the series as ''"disgusting and insulting porn comics"''. Reflex refused to apologize, stating that ''"pornography is about sex, but we're talking about serious political topics"''. In 2009, the courts rejected Paroubková's description of the comic as pornographic, and rejected her case.

David Rath

In February, 2009, ''Reflex'' published an article called ''"Arbeit Macht Rath"'', containing criticism of a former minister of health for the Czech Republic and current (2010) governor of Central Bohemian region,

David Rath David Rath (born 25 December 1965) is a Czech physician, former politician who served as Minister of Health from 2005 to 2006, and convicted criminal. He was a member of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) until 16 May 2012 when he resigne ...

, by some of his Social Democratic Party colleagues. The issue cover caricatured Rath as

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

and the article title referred to Rath's statement to the newspaper ''Lidové noviny'': ''"Hitler solved the crisis by starting armament, by which he gave people jobs and fired up the economy. He won the election with that. Later that resulted in a war. But liberal economists tend to forget that."'' In August 2009, Rath filed a lawsuit against ''Reflex'' but lost the case. The court considered the caricature neither inappropriate nor uncivil: judge Tomáš Novosad found it justified by Rath's published statement. The editor-in-chief of ''Reflex'', Pavel Šafr, wrote: ''"we have depicted Mr. Rath as a combination of a clown and a dictator, as a cross-breed of Adolf Hitler and Charlie Chaplin."''

Pavel Bém

Pavel Bém Pavel Bém (born 18 July 1963) is a Czech physician and politician. Between 28 November 2002 and 30 November 2010 he served as the Mayor of the Capital City of Prague, and re-elected in 2006. On 19 November 2006 he was elected Deputy Leader ...

, Mayor of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and member of the Civic Democratic Party was subject of a ''Reflex'' article on alleged corruption within Prague's municipal government. The magazine's cover showed Bém with a pig's snout and the article was illustrated with a photomontage of him with a rolled banknote and a line of white powder on a table. Bém planned to sue ''Reflex'', but did not. Instead, he sent ''Reflex'' a letter protesting his own innocence and their use of a single, unreliable source. ''"... ic z tohose nezakládá na konkrétních důkazech, pouze na tvrzení jednoho jediného a zaručeně pravdivého zdroje, jenž do údajné sítě nikdy nepronikl, ale ví o ní úplně vše. Jsou to absurdní tvrzení a já je odmítám."'' ''Reflex'' published his letter in its 21 January 2010 issue.

Contributors

Radek Bajgar Radek is a masculine Christian name of Slavic origin. It is often nickname of Radovan, Ctirad and Radoslav. It is used as a surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Radek Baborák, Czech conductor and French h ...

- former editor-in-chief *

- former reporter * Tomáš Feřtek *

Pavlína Wolfová Pavlína Wolfová (née Spálená; 22 December 1971) is a Czech journalist and television presenter. Life and career Wolfová graduated from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, from 1991 to 1992, she worked as an intern at Lidov ...

Tomáš Baldýnský Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas. It may refer to: * Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), first President of Czechoslovakia * Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932), Czech footwear entrepreneur * Tomáš Berdych ...

Miloš Čermák Miloš, Milos, Miłosz or spelling variations thereof is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name Sportsmen * Miłosz Bernatajtys, Polish rower * Miloš Bogunović, Serbian footballer * Miloš Budaković, Serbian foo ...

Jan Potůček Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article N ...

Lucie Tomanová Lucie is the French and Czech form of the female name Lucia. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Lucie Ahl, British tennis player * Lucie Arnaz, American actress * Lucie Aubrac, member of the French Resistance * Lucie Baltha ...

Andrej Halada Andrey, Andrej or Andrei (in Cyrillic script: Андрей, Андреј or Андрэй) is a form of Andreas/Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: * Andrei of Polotsk ( – 1399), Lithuanian nobleman *A ...

Veronika Bednářová Veronica, Veronika, etc., may refer to: People * Veronica (name) * Saint Veronica * Saint Veronica of Syria Arts and media Comics and literature * ''Veronica'', an 1870 novel by Frances Eleanor Trollope * ''Veronica'', a 2005 novel by Mary Ga ...

Bohumil Pečinka Bohumil is a Slavic male given name. Means "favoured by God" from the Slavic elements bog ''god'' and mil ''favour''. Pronounced ''baw-huw-MIL''. Nicknames are Bob, Bobby, Bohouš, Bohoušek, Bohuš, Mila, Milek, Bogie, Boga, Bozha. Another forms a ...

Jan Šibík Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article N ...

- main photographer * Petr Bílek - former editor-in-chief * Pavel Šafr - former editor-in-chief

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reflex 1990 establishments in Czechoslovakia Czech-language magazines Magazines established in 1990 Magazines published in Prague News magazines published in Europe Weekly magazines