In the monitored period of 6 months in the year 2001, Television Markiza allocated almost five times more time to cover the activities of ANO than the time allotted to the same party by the national television station. Furthermore, ANO was the only political party portrayed on Television Markiza exclusively in a positive light (“Presentation of the political party ANO in the main news broadcasts in TV Markíza and Slovak TV”). The positive presentation of the party’s work has been reflected also in the national election in the year 2002, where it received more than 9% of the votes and became one of the governing parties.
The respectability of television as a form of broadcasting can hardly be improved as long as the national television system of the country does not function properly. Its non-functioning is caused by the financial crisis in which the television industry has found itself during the last decade. The indebtedness of Slovak television to Slovak Telecom, which provides the frequency enabling broadcasting, reached in 1999 almost half a million Slovak crowns, which is the highest amount since its existence. The unfavourable financial situation has also had its effects on the popularity of the national channel itself, since the programmes that it offers to people are often thematically uninteresting and their quality is rather depleted.
To conclude, the characteristics that each television station must have to be fully respected by people are often missing in the Slovak channels. Due to the preference of personal interests of Television Markiza’s managers and the huge deficit of Slovak television, the Slovak channels are far from being regarded as trustworthy. Being watched by millions of people does not make a television channel respectable, it is more important that it is regarded as a credible and reliable source of information.