YES, WE SPEAK ENGLISH HERE
Aktualnì.cz, Czech Republic
10.09.2007
Another milestone in Czech online journalism, or a tragically
miscalculated flop? You be the judge.
The fact is that Aktualnì.cz now speaks English as certain people
who already proved themselves as visionaries by starting this venture
almost two years ago (as the first full-fledged online-only daily in
the Czech Republic) believe we ought to reach out to a wider audience.
Who that audience might be remains to be seen but we do believe there
are bound to be people who might be interested in what is taking
place in the Czech Republic even as they do not speak the language.
Whether they live here or in a far-flung corner of South Pacific does
not really matter in the era of global village information-superhighway
communication.
The plan is to give you an English version of the most original
articles that appear on our pages and bear some over-arching relevance
to non-Czech readers both in and out of Czech Republic. Being modest
as we are, our guess is we are talking about one, two or perhaps
three pieces a day.
The world does not end here
Aside from the articles from and about the Czech Republic which are
to be a main feature on these pages we are also taking the opportunity
to give you a taste of what our Foreign News section does.
Most of the content of that section, of course, is based on outside
sources like news agencies, foreign newspapers and online publications
etc. Occasionally though, we do our own field reporting from abroad.
Our correspondent went to South Korea shortly after the last nuclear
test by North Korea sent diplomatic shockwaves around the globe. We
were in Israel to see the aftermath of last summer war between that
country and Hezbollah.
We were probably the only Czech publication to send our own
correspondent to Yerevan last April for the annual commemoration of the
1915 genocide which still clouds relations between Armenia and Turkey.
Vacationing in dictatorship(s)
And we tirelessly continue to cover regions which are sometimes
referred to as "information black-holes" but which offer much drama
and worthwhile stories. See for yourself in pieces from Belarus and
Burma where author of these lines spent his summer vacation.
One might be forgiven for recalling the famous line from Vladislav
Vanèura´s timeless book Rozmarne Leto (Summer of Caprice): This way
of summer appears to me as being somewhat unfortunate.
I beg to disagree though. I would not have it any other way. And I
consider myself very privileged to have met and befriended several
brave people there whose courage, personal integrity and determination
I boundlessly admire.
Dear readers, I do apologize for this uncalled-for exercise in
self-promotion, but after all, this is a blog entry, so what did
you expect?
Enjoy the bilingual Aktualnì.cz and remember that we do appreciate
feedback.
–Boundary_(ID_ltc1WhD4pcf9e 9x9o3uKiw)–