Michal Kovačič
Michal Kovačič | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983 (age 40–41) |
| Career | |
| Show | Na Telo Main News Morning News |
| Network | Markíza Fun Rádio Slovak Television |
Michal Kovačič (born 1983) is a Slovak journalist and talkshow host.
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Michal Kovačič was born in 1983 in Bratislava. He studied law at the Comenius University graduating in 2009.[1] Kovačič started working in media field already as a student. Between 2002 and 2008 he worked at the public broadcaster Slovak Television. He started as a production assistant, later became a presenter of the morning news and, in the final year, he was promoted to a main news presenter.[2] Between 2007 and 2008 he was parallelly a news presenter at Fun Rádio.[3]
At Markíza (2008-present)[edit]
In 2008 Kovačič joined the main news team at the private Markíza television station. He took a short break from broadcasting in 2010 to undertake an internship in the United States at CNN.[2] In 2018 Kovačič started hosting the political talkshow Na Telo on Markíza, which quickly established itself as the most influential political talk show in Slovakia.[4][5] In 2022 Kovačič was one of the contestants in the Let's Dance show, finishing eighth.[6]
Following the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election, reports emerged that the new government is pressuring Markíza to align its narratives with government's point of view through threating of redirecting advertisement funds from governmental institutions and publicly owned firms to other broadcasters. Kovačič emerged amongst the leaders of Markíza journalist, who saw these developments as a censorship attempt. To resist these pressures, the journalists started unionized with Kovačič as the head of the new trade union organization.[7]
In April 2024, the government politicians started to boycott Na Telo.[8] In May 2024, Kovačič broadcasted a short unauthorized speech at the end of the Na Telo show, accusing the management of Markíza in being complicit in the government's agenda of censoring the political content in the media, mirroring the approach of Viktor Orbán in Hungary. Following the broadcast, Kovačič was taken off screen. At the same time, over a hundred of Markíza journalists wrote a letter in support of Kovačič, demanding his restoration as a host of Na Telo and guarantees of journalistic independence in Markíza broadcasting.[9]
Personal life[edit]
In 2017, Kovačič married the journalist Zuzana Hanzelová. They spent their honeymoon volunteering in Nicaragua.[3] In 2024 they announced they were expecting their first child.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ "Alumni list of the Comenius University".
- ^ a b "Spíkri - Michal Kovačič". www.itapa.sk. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ a b "#FUNRADIO30 | "Raz večer ma Sajfa na 40 minút vymkol na balkóne" Michal Kovačič hosťom u Adely a Sajfu". www.funradio.sk (in Slovak). 2020-05-15. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ Gálisová, Zuzana (2018). "Predstavíme vám moderátora Michala Kovačiča, ako ho nepoznáte" (in Slovak). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Na telo suverénne najsledovanejšou politickou diskusiou, k obrazovkám pritiahlo takmer pol milióna ľudí". 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Nešťastná láska v podaní Bardyho zodvihla divákov zo stoličiek! Let's Dance opustil Kovačič". Pravda.sk (in Slovak). 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ Struhárik, Filip (2024-03-19). "Kovačič, Vincze a ďalší novinári Markízy zakladajú odbory. Chceme zachovať úroveň spravodajstva, tvrdia". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ Osvaldová, Lucia; Mikušovič, Dušan (2024-04-12). "Ficova koalícia bojkotuje reláciu Na telo v Markíze". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ Katuška, Michal. "Markíza čoraz menej skrýva, že Kovačič musí odísť. Vedeniu prekáža už aj ako odborový predák". domov.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ "Tehotná Kovačič Hanzelová v posilňovni: Ukázala bruško v plnej paráde! VIDEO". Koktejl.sk (in Slovak). 2024-06-07. Retrieved 2024-06-07.