Czech public TV and radio staff stage a first-ever strike, accusing the Babiš government of political meddling over funding

Czech public media workers staged a one-day strike on Tuesday, forcing Czech Television to fall back on archive programming and Czech Radio to broadcast music interspersed with a brief statement. At the heart of the dispute is Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's proposal to scrap licence-fee funding for public broadcasters and replace it with direct payments from the state budget, a shift that would cut their revenue by around 15%. Opponents warn the move mirrors the politically driven dismantling of public media already seen in Slovakia and Hungary.

Czech Television's chief news editor Michal Kubal said the strike was unprecedented in the history of the country's public service media.

University students are set to march in Prague and other major cities on Tuesday afternoon in solidarity with the cause of public media independence.

The strike has received support from labour unions, university deans, churches and international media organisations.