Michal Kovačič (born 1983) is a Slovak journalist and talk show host.

Early life

Born in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, Kovačič studied law at the

Comenius University Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

graduating in 2009. He started as a production assistant before becoming a presenter of the

Markíza Markíza (also known as Televízia Markíza) is a Slovak television channel launched on August 31, 1996. The channel was founded by a later politician Pavol Rusko, and is now part of the Central European Media Enterprises (CME). It also opera ...

morning news, later promoted to main news presenter. Between 2007 and 2008, Kovačič was a news presenter on

Fun Rádio Fun Rádio is a commercial radio station in Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the we ...

Career

Kovačič joined the main news team at the private

television station in 2008, but took a short break from broadcasting in 2010 to undertake an internship in the United States on

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

. In 2018, he started hosting the political talk show ''Na Telo'' on Markíza, which quickly established itself as the most influential political talk show in Slovakia. In 2022, Kovačič finished eighth place as one of the contestants in '' Let's Dance''. Following the

2023 Slovak parliamentary election Early parliamentary elections were held in the Slovakia, Slovak Republic on 30 September 2023 to elect members of the National Council (Slovakia), National Council. Regular elections were scheduled to be held in 2024. However, on 15 December 202 ...

, the government of Slovakia was reported to pressure Markíza to align its narratives with government's point of view through threatening of redirecting advertisement funds from governmental institutions and public-owned firms to other broadcasters. Kovačič emerged amongst the leaders of Markíza journalist, who saw these developments as a censorship attempt. Wanting to resist these pressures, the journalists started to unite with Kovačič as the head of the new trade union organization. When the government of Slovakia started to boycott ''Na Telo'' in April 2024, Kovačič broadcast a short unauthorized speech at the end of ''Na Telo'', accusing the Markíza management for being complicit in the government's agenda of censoring the political content in the media, mirroring the approach of

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...

in Hungary. Following the broadcast, Kovačič was taken off-screen. Over a hundred of Markíza journalists wrote a letter in support of Kovačič, demanding his return as a host of ''Na Telo'' and guarantees of journalistic independence in Markíza broadcasting. He was fired one month after the incident and has since considered legal action.

Personal life

In 2017, Kovačič married the journalist Zuzana Hanzelová. They spent their

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...

volunteering in

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. The couple announced they were expecting their first child in 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacic, Michal 1983 births Living people Slovak journalists Comenius University alumni Slovak television presenters People from Bratislava