The full night’s sleep definitely recharged my battery this morning as we set out to CT24, Ceska Televise.  This is much like CNN Headline News in America.  There we met, and were led on a tour of the building by Martin Reznicek, who works at the international news desk.  I was first struck by the way the entire operation seemed to run very similarly to American television news, with the obvious distinction of speaking Czech on air.  Fortunately for us, everyone there speaks English as a second language, and speaking with Martin was quite easy.

CT24 runs on a public service model, and is funded through license fees paid by consumers when they buy TVs.  Also, under the public service model, it seemed that CT24 was run much more through the substance of its news than through sensational stories.  This is in contrast to NOVA, which relies heavily on more sensational coverage of events.  This again reminded me of the American ideals of journalism, and the way that certain news organizations strive for substance while others provide a more sensationalist angle.

Our tour took us through much of the news room and various studios in the building before we departed to meet Martin Lokisk, who took us through Charles University and the downtown area.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t get through all of the University, but we did get a wonderful tour of the place and downtown.  I was absolutely astounded by the architecture of the buildings in the area.  Many of these buildings are standing from ancient times.  The main building of Charles University was built in the 1300s.  The entire Prague city square was absolutely beautiful, and I was completely taken aback by the history of the entire area.

Along the way I’ve been brushing up on my Czech pleases and thank yous, and thanking my lucky stars that Dr. Elavsky speaks the language and can order our food for us.  Tomorrow we’re planning to see parliament and tour one of the many castles in the area.