History and Task of the Press Office of the Czech Bishops' Conference
In the beginning of 1990, the Bishops' Conference of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic was established with a press office as its part. As a press spokesman, Rev Miloslav Fiala was appointed and he stayed in the office also after the separation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1992, until 1996. After appointment of new press spokesman, Rev Daniel Herman, Father Fiala worked as a director of the Press Office of the Czech Bishops' Conference.
The Czech Bishops' Conference (CBK) was established in 1993 and the Press Office was embodied in its structure. Later, offices of the press spokesman and the director were united and exercised by Rev Daniel Herman until 31 May 2005. From 1 June 2005 to 31 January 2007, Martin Horalek was the press spokesman. Jiri Gracka was entrusted leading of the Press Office from 1 July to 17 October 2007 and since 18 October 2007 until 31 December 2009, director of the Press Office was Rev Juan Provecho, OSA. In January 2008, Dr. Irena Sargankova was appointed new press spokeswoman of the Czech Bishops' Conference.
The Press Office of the Czech Bishops' Conference has been established to offer the Czech Bishops' Conference a place for contacts with public, as it is required by some documents by the Holy See, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
Working Scope
We follow news from the ecclesiastic world or from the secular, if it is related somehow to the Church. Our working scope can be divided in two categories: following of church and secular news agencies, and releasing of our own news – assumed from other agencies as well as original ones.
Compared to other agencies, the specificity of the Press Office lies in its relation to the Czech Bishops' Conference. The primary task of the Press Office is to monitor news and at the same time to be an official information portal of the Czech Bishops' Conference – to publish bishops' statements to significant events, notifications of events attended by bishops and so on.
Service Offered
At the first working area – news monitoring – we follow all important sources of information – Czech as well as foreign, press as well as Internet or TV. Among the Czech ones, the most important are the Czech News Agency (CTK), dailies, and TV news. As for the foreign, there are Catholic news agencies VIS, ZENIT, CNS, KNA, SIR, and bishops' conferences' news, especially the neighbouring ones – Polish and Slovak, and news from conferences' associations: CCEE, COMECE.
As our own service, we release news from the Holy See and from abroad, taken over from the above-mentioned agencies, and news from the Czech Republic. As a special service, we publish notices of religious programs in the media, and notices of lectures and other events. Besides, we release church documents – Czech translations of those published by the Holy See as well as those released by the Czech Bishops' Conference.
Finally, we offer the English news service, translations of most of our news published in the English version of our website. Both Czech and English news are available also through an e-mail Newsletter for free.
Everyday Schedule
Our everyday routine is marked by the two tasks we implement. Although every member of the Press Office is responsible for some part of our work (web administration, news monitoring, news from the Czech Republic, news from abroad…), we try to achieve some degree of substitutability, so that everybody could stand for his colleague in every piece of work. Everyone of us does what is the most convenient for him and – in case of need – what is necessary at the moment.
Great part of our work is provided by our correspondents, external co-workers from individual dioceses. They produce the largest portion of local news on events in preparation as well as those passed ones.
