Lidové noviny

Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Berliner
Owner	Mafra a.s., Rheinisch-Bergische Druckerei- und Verlagsgesellschaft
Editor	Dalibor Balšínek
Founded	1893
Political alignment	Liberal conservatism, right of center[1]
Language	Czech
Headquarters	Karla Engliše 519/11, Prague
Circulation	73,000 (2008) [2]
ISSN	1213-1385
Official website	http://www.lidovky.cz

Lidové noviny (People's News, Czech pronunciation: [ˈlɪdovɛː ˈnovɪnɪ]) is a daily newspaper published in the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily.^[2] Its profile is nowadays a national news daily covering political, economic, cultural and scientific affairs, mostly with a centre-right,^[1] conservative view.^[2] It often hosts commentaries and opinions of prominent personalities from the Czech Republic and from abroad.

History[link]

Lidové noviny was founded in 1893 in Brno. Its high prestige was due to the number of famous Czech personalities that were contributing—writers, politicians and philosophers—and its attention toward foreign politics and culture. It was also the first Czech daily publishing political cartoons. Its publication was interrupted during World War II and was closed down in 1952.^[2]

In 1987 a group of political dissidents led by Jiří Ruml, Jiří Dienstbier and Ladislav Hejdánek recommenced the publication in a monthly samizdat version.^[2] In the autumn two "zero editions" were published and in January 1988 the first edition was issued. Since November 1989 it is being published legally and since the spring 1990 as a daily. Some years later it was merged with dissolving Lidová demokracie, from which they inherited the blue colour of the title.

Since 1998 it has been part of the German group Rheinisch-Bergische Druckerei und Verlagsgesellschaft GmbH (the publisher of the daily Rheinische Post in Germany) and its Czech subsidiary Mafra a.s., that is also publisher of the second largest Czech daily Mladá fronta Dnes, the Czech edition of the freesheet Metro, the TV music channel Óčko, the radio stations Expresradio and Rádio Classic FM and the weekly music magazine Filter.

Its editor is currently Dalibor Balšínek. In 2008 it had a circulation of 73,000 copies and reaches up to 232,000 readers per day.^[2]

Before World War II, the newspaper's prestige was high, with many famous Czech intellectuals, such as Karel Čapek, being its editors. The contemporary variant concentrates more on infotainment to gain readership.

Headquarters of Lidové Noviny and Dnes in Prague

Personalities[link]

Among the contributors and editors of the old Lidové noviny, there were Karel Čapek, Josef Čapek, Richard Weiner, Eduard Bass, Karel Poláček, Rudolf Těsnohlídek, Jiří Mahen, Jan Drda, Václav Řezáč and the presidents Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Edvard Beneš.

Editors[link]

This list includes only editors of the new Lidové noviny.

• Jiří Ruml (1988–1990)
• Rudolf Zeman (1990–1991)
• Jaroslav Veis (1991–1992)
• Tomáš Smetánka (1992–1993)
• Jaromír Štětina (1993–1994)
• Jiří Kryšpín (1994) – interim
• Libor Ševčík (1994–1996)
• Jefim Fištejn (1996–1997)
• Pavel Šafr (1997–2000)
• Veselin Vačkov (2000–2009)
• Dalibor Balšínek (since 2009)

See also[link]

• Concentration of media ownership in the Czech Republic
• Mladá fronta DNES

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} Pre-workshop Report, Robert Schumann centre for Advanced Studies
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} The Czech media landscape—print media

External links[link]

• Official page (Czech)

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2010)

Karel Gott
Karel Gott in 2002
Background information
Born	(1939-07-14) July 14, 1939 (age 72)
Origin	Pilsen, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Singer
Years active	1958–present
Labels	Supraphon,[1] Polydor
Website	www.karelgott.com

Karel Gott (born July 14, 1939 in Plzeň) is a Czech Schlager singer, and an amateur painter. He is considered as the most successful male singer in former Czechoslovakia and currently in the Czech Republic; he has being voted the Most Favorite Male Singer in the annual national pool Český slavík (English: Czech Nightingale) in total thirty-six times. He also gained widespread fame in the German-speaking countries.^{[citation needed]}

Biography[link]

Gott was born in Pilsen, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (now Plzeň, Czech Republic), and has lived in Prague since age 6. He initially wanted to study art, but failed the exams at UMPRUM, the Secondary School of Art and Industry, upon which he began training as an electrician. On completing his studies, he began working as an electrician, but was soon fascinated by the new types of music flooding the city, and became interested in jazz. He experimented with playing the bass and the guitar, but eventually decided to focus on singing, studying it privately. During the 1950s, he occasionally performed as an amateur singer and often participated in competitions.

In 1958, he participated in an amateur singing contest in the Prague Slavonic House, entitled "Looking for New Talent." He utterly failed to impress the judges, but soon made a name for himself in Prague jazz circles, finally getting his first engagement at the Vltava Prague Cafe that same year.

In 1960, he decided to undertake singing professionally. He studied opera at the Prague Conservatory under Konstantin Karenin, a student of the brilliant Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin. Knowing of Gott's interest in current musical trends, Karenin instructed him not only in classical Italian pieces, but also in the hits of the day. It was at this time that Gott traveled abroad for the first time with the Jazz Orchestra of the Czechoslovak Broadcast, conducted by Karel Krautgartner.

In 1962, Gott released his first single with Supraphon. Titled Až nám bude dvakrát tolik (When we are twice as old), it was a duet with the leading jazz singer, Vlasta Průchová. It was also at this time that Gott was voted into the Zlatý slavík (Golden Nightingale) viewer's survey, placing 49th and receiving a total of three votes. Shortly afterwards, in 1963, Gott left the conservatory to continue his studies privately until 1966.

In 1963 Gott was offered a place at the recently founded Prague Semafor theater, which was then at the forefront of the emerging Czechoslovakian pop music scene. This was his introduction to performance, where he learned how to communicate with an audience and move on a stage. In the same year, he released his first solo single, a Czech recording of Henry Mancini's Moon River, as well as his song Oči sněhem zaváté (Eyes Covered by Snow), which became the year's best-selling record. Shortly afterwards, Gott received the first of thirty-four (Golden Nightingale) awards, given to the most popular artist of the year.

Gott established the "Apollo Theater" in 1965, along with two brothers who were with him in Semafor: Jiří and Ladislav Štaidl. At this point, he was already a major star, appearing in the programs "Pilgrimage for Two" and "Evening Prayer" while building his own repertoire with his own orchestra. He began composing his own songs, and toured Czechoslovakia and abroad with the Apollo Theater. That year, he released his first album, Karel Gott Sings with Supraphon to great acclaim. Songs from his Supraphon archives are currently being released by Sony Music Bonton. This first album was followed by an English export album titled The Golden Voice of Prague (Artia-Supraphon).

In 1967, Gott performed at MIDEM, the International Fair of Record Companies and Music Producers in Cannes, France, where the applause was measured during every concert. He surprised everyone by achieving a level of 54 to Tom Jones' 58. Following this event, Gott signed a contract with the Polydor / Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft record company, renewing it several times until it became a life contract in 1997. Between 1967 and 2000, Polydor released over 125 albums and 72 singles for Karel Gott in German speaking countries in Europe. Gott represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song Tausend Fenster, finishing in 13th place.

In the same year, Gott spent six months performing daily at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, which experience made a great impression on him.

In the 70s, domestic success was marked by Gott's presence on television, including the filming of a ten part serial entitled Karel Gott in Slany. On May 3, 1977, he was awarded the title of Merited Artist, and in the following year received the Golden Hat of Cologne, given yearly to a personality in the cultural and social sphere. After human rights campaigners signed Charter 77 to protest the abuses of the totalitarian regime, Gott collaborated in the government orchestrated anti-charter movement.

The 80s were marked by international success, including the filming of the musical In the Track of Bel Canto in Italy in 1981, with a corresponding German-Italian album and duet performance with Sofia Rotaru in the Soviet Union.^[2] In 1983, Gott was given the Gold Medal of Hermann Lönse in Munich, Germany, for the development of the German national song. On April 30, 1985, he was awarded the title of National Artist for his exceptional artistic contributions. In 1986, he received Polydor's Golden Needle, which up until then had only ever been given to Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan. The Supraphon Diamond Record Award was given him on September 8, 1992, for having sold 13 million recordings, a number which would account for 86% of Czechoslovakia's population.

In 1990, Gott decided to end his career and arranged a huge farewell tour. However, the tour was so successful that he re-evaluated his decision. In 1993, he established his own artistic agency, GOJA, with František Janeček. It is this agency that currently produces Gott's records and organizes his artistic activities.

In 1996, following renewed public interest in his career, Gott again won 'The Golden Nightingale Award' with a huge lead over his rivals, and has retained the accolade every year since [2008]. He remains popular in a number of countries, including those of the former Soviet Union, where his first record, produced by Melodiya in 1977, sold a staggering 4.5 million copies. He has performed widely outside The Czech Republic, in countries as varied as the United Arab Emirates, China, Cuba, and Japan.

During the 90s, Gott began to focus increasingly on painting, his second great love. The first exhibition of his paintings took place in 1992, at the Prague Christ Child Gallery. He has since exhibited his work successfully in Berlin, Moscow, Munich, Cologne, Vienna, and Bratislava.

Karel Gott recorded a cover version of the song All by Myself called Kam tenkrát šel můj bratr Jan (Where Did My Brother Jan Go This Time).[1] The song was dedicated to Jan Palach who set himself on fire and burned to death as a protest against Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in January 1969.^{[citation needed]} The song was recorded in 1977 while Soviet troops were still present in the country. In order to continue in his career, he had to sign in 1978 the so-called "Anti-charter", a petition organized by the Communist government against the Charter 77 signed by Václav Havel and other dissidents, protesting the government's violations of the Helsinki Accords. In 2008, he covered, together with Bushido, "Forever Young" from Alphaville, for Bushido's album Heavy Metal Payback. The song is called "Für immer jung".

He has two adult daughters (Dominika and Lucie) from former relationships (they have different mothers). He is also the father to Charlotte Ella with Ivana Macháčková whom he married on January 7, 2008 in Las Vegas, the city where he started his international career. She gave birth to a second daughter, Nelly Sofie, in summer 2008. ^[3]

Discography[link]

See also[link]

• Neznámy pár - duet with Marika Gombitová
• Hrajme píseň - trio with Marika Gombitová and Josef Laufer

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Karel Gott

• www.karelgott.com — official homepage
  • Biography
• www.karelgott.net — unofficial site
  • Biography
• Biography of Karel Gott — at www.gott.cz
• www.karel-gott.de — official homepage for German-speaking countries (German)
• Karel Gott^{[dead link]} — at the Czech Republic website
• Karel Gott — at allmusic
• Karel Gott at the Internet Movie Database
• Karel Gott discography at Discogs
• An Interactive VR Panorama of Karel Gott, arriving at Vaclav Havel's 70th birthday party, 4 October 2006
• http://www.discographien.de/alle_cds_von_Karel+Gott.htm

JUDr. Pavel Rychetský
Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 August 2003
Preceded by	Miloš Holeček
Senator from Strakonice
In office 1996–2003
Preceded by	office created
Succeeded by	Josef Kalbáč
Personal details
Born	17 August 1943 Prague, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Political party	KSČ (1966–1969), ČSSD
Alma mater	Charles University

JUDr. Pavel Rychetský (born 17 August 1943) is the third and current Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. The Senate confirmed him on 16 July 2003 and on 6 August 2003 he was sworn in by President Václav Klaus.

Before joining the Constitutional Court, Rychetský was the Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Legislative Council from 15 July 2002 to 5 August 2003.

Previously, he had a private law practice and held positions in the Government since early 1990s.

Rychetský was awarded Légion d'honneur on 12 July 2005.

External links[link]

• Official biography
• Media related to Pavel Rychetský at Wikimedia Commons

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