David Koubek Becomes a New Czech Radio Correspondent for Latin America
On 1 March 2014, Czech Radio launches a new position of foreign correspondent in Latin America, with David Koubek becoming the first person to take this position.
“We have opted for Latin America, since it is a prospective continent with the potential for economic growth, where Brazil is now a priority country for Czech trade. David Koubek will bring exclusive reports, as Czech Radio will become the only Czech broadcaster with its own correspondent in Central and South America,” says the Deputy Director General for Programme and Broadcasting, René Zavoral.
David Koubek will join the existing 12-member team of foreign correspondents. He will come on air for the first time this Saturday, reporting from the Rio de Janeiro carnival. In the past, radio correspondents had been deployed in South America in the 1950s and 1960s, and notably, in the years 1989-1992, long-term correspondent of Czech Radio, Karel Wichs reported from the region.
“Foreign correspondents bring exceptional added value to the news services of Czech Radio. It may seem that in the era of Twitter, the Internet, YouTube and news exchange, foreign correspondence can be performed from just about any remote office or central newsroom. However, we believe that the personal experiences of a correspondent, who has been living at a specific location for years, and is able to see things that agencies can never register, are irreplaceable. Thanks to these experiences, we can provide our audience with a context as well as our own original topics and reports. And South America offers a host of topics relevant to the Czech Republic,” says the Head of the News and Current Affairs Department, Tomáš Pancíř.
David Koubek will focus not only on topics common to Latin America, such as the Amazon, Indians, the Incas, carnivals, tango and soccer, but also on completely unknown issues. For example, there are plenty of Brazilians who have African (non-Native American) ancestors, but many of them also have Czech roots.
“I want to add to the understanding that the Czech audience no longer perceives South America as an unknown exotic continent. The continent that will host the upcoming World Cup, as well as the summer Olympic Games, has massive economic and human potential. However, it is full of fascinating contrasts, both from a positive and negative point of view. For example, the latest developments in Venezuela show that even a considerably prosperous country can undergo rapid change,” describes David Koubek.
David Koubek (33) studied International and European Studies at the University of Economics in Prague, and also at Fundação Getúlio Vargas in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2005, he joined the online daily Aktuálně.cz, and in 2006 he started working for the Foreign News Desk of Czech Radio where he stayed for almost 7 years. Afterwards, he worked as a reporter and editor at the Foreign News Desk of Czech Television.
Mgr. Tereza M. Krásenská
Spokesperson of Czech Radio
Phone: +420 221 551 221
E-mail: tereza.krasenska@rozhlas.cz