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Jiří Ovčáček

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Czech politician
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Jiří Ovčáček
Jiří Ovčáček in 2015
Personal details
Born (1979-01-13) 13 January 1979 (age 45)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Alma materFaculty of Arts, Charles University

Jiří Ovčáček (born 13 January 1979) is a Czech journalist and news columnist. He previously worked as the spokesman for Miloš Zeman during Zeman's presidency.

Biography

Early life

Ovčáček was born on 13 January 1979. He studied at the Archbishop's High School in Prague, but dropped out at the age of 16 after dying his hair green in a protest against the school environment. Ovčáček graduated from the Ecological Gymnasium.

Early career

In February 2015, the Echo24 [cs] server's GhostBuster column reported that Ovčáček had written 443 articles in two years between 2002 and 2004, while working for Haló noviny, which reflected his fascination with communism.

Government Office of the Czech Republic

Ovčáček worked in the press department of the Government Office of the Czech Republic during Jiří Paroubek's tenure as prime minister. Ovčáček served as the deputy director of the department and became Paroubek's press spokesman, but was dismissed in 2007 after Paroubek lost trust in him. In his book Plnou parou v politice (lit. 'Full steam in politics'), Paroubek accused Ovčáček of slandering him in the tabloid media.

Other commentators criticised Ovčáček's journalism over his alleged bias, extending to expressions of personal revenge. During the 2013 Czech presidential election, Deník Referendum editor Patrik Eichler accused Ovčáček of bias against Jiří Dienstbier Jr. as a ČSSD candidate.

Spokesman for Miloš Zeman

Ovčáček was appointed press spokesman for Miloš Zeman in December 2013. His predecessor Hana Burianová initially remained as director of the press department of the presidential office, until Ovčáček replaced her in this position in May 2014.

Ovčáček was the subject of criticism for his methods in the role. frequently attacking Zeman's opponents and critics in coarse terms and comparing them to fascists. In September 2021, Patrik Schober, executive board member of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), said that Ovčáček "lies, divides society and deliberately labels", and criticised his high salary, while Czech media commentator Ondřej Kubal said that Ovčáček's behaviour did not correspond to the function of the president's spokesperson.

In 2015, Ovčáček was involved in the "Hitler is a Gentleman" case, in which he and Zeman made negative statements about Czechoslovak journalist Ferdinand Peroutka.

Later career

When Petr Pavel took office as president of the Czech Republic in early 2023, Ovčáček resigned as presidential spokesperson and was replaced by Markéta Řeháková. In April 2023, he started working as an editor and commentator for the social website Život v Česku.

Social media use

While spokesman for President Zeman, Ovčáček was criticised for idiosyncratic use of social media, publishing vulgar and obscene comments which sometimes did not distinguish clearly between his own views and Zeman's. Ovčáček used his Twitter account and President Zeman's Facebook account to broadcast live recordings of Zeman's speeches, which he referred to as "OVTV".

In June 2019, internet trolls began using the comments sections underneath Ovčáček's tweets as noticeboards for unrelated discussions, such as sharing recipes or tips for pest control, which Ovčáček claimed was the work of activists from A Million Moments for Democracy. Social media expert Daniel Dočekal argued that this form of trolling was helping Ovčáček gain followers and become more visible on Twitter.

In popular culture

A satirical political cabaret, Ovčáček čtveřáček, was created in 2016 at the Zlín Theatre, in response to some controversial events connected with the presidency of Miloš Zeman. The main role of Ovčáček was played by Marek Příkazký. In 2017, the theatre premiered a sequel, Ovčáček miláček.

In 2017, the card board game Čtveráček was launched, inspired by the conduct of Zeman and Ovčáček. According to the description, it is a satirical improvisational card party game in which players play presidents, press officers and journalists.

Ovčáček presented his own talk show, Jiří Ovčáček, on TV Barrandov from the end of August 2019 until December 2019, when TV Barrandov suspended the broadcast citing viewership figures.

Personal life

In 2018, Ovčáček converted from the Czechoslovak Hussite Church to Roman Catholicism. He has been married to a Ukrainian woman since November 2022. The couple met when he took her in as a refugee from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On 16 December 2021, Ovčáček was taken to the detention station after he took a taxi costing CZK 350 to Dělnická Street in Holešovice, refused to pay, and fell asleep drunk. Ovčáček later apologised for his behavior, citing "various dramatic circumstances surrounding the formation of the government" as the reason.

References

  1. Kopecký, Josef (23 August 2017). "Zeman nehodlá počítat peníze za výjezdy do kampaně. Úřad to vidí jinak". iDNES (in Czech). Prague: Mafra. Retrieved 17 April 2018 – via Štěch announced the election, Ovčáček is happy on his birthday. I can add that I was pleased with the date, because 13 January 2018 is my 39th birthday.
  2. Kubík, Jiří (5 May 2015). "Ovčáček připouští: Na práci v Haló novinách nejsem hrdý". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  3. Orozovič, Petr. "Jiří Ovčáček I: Poprvé o soukromí a ne o Zemanovi". iDNES (in Czech). Prague: Mafra. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  4. "Pana Ovčáčka fascinoval komunismus. Máme důkazy". Echo24.cz (in Czech). 5 September 2016.
  5. "Z Haló novin, Blesku a Práva na Hrad. Ovčáček je nový Zemanův mluvčí". iDNES (in Czech). 29 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  6. "Paroubek oznámil rozvod s ženou Zuzanou". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. 1 July 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  7. "Paroubek se musí omluvit Ovčáčkovi za "nechutného podrazáka"". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  8. "Proces Jiřího Paroubka s "novinářem" Ovčáčkem připomíná Kafkův román". Vaše Věc (in Czech). 21 January 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  9. Potůček, Jan (16 July 2006). "Nezávislý novinář?". Reflex.cz (in Czech). Czech News Center. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  10. Eichler, Patrik (18 February 2013). "Ovčáček sloužil čertu". Deník Referendum (in Czech). Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  11. "Nový tiskový mluvčí prezidenta republiky". Prague Castle (in Czech). 1 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  12. "Novým mluvčím prezidenta bude Jiří Ovčáček, Burianová zůstává". ČT24 (in Czech). Czech Television. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  13. Lang, Václav (6 August 2014). "Zemanova bývalá mluvčí v tichosti přesídlila k Chládkovi". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  14. "Mluvčí Hradu cituje žalm z bible, k Zemanově hospitalizaci mlčí". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Prague: Mafra. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  15. "Mlčení, mlžení a žalmy za 300 tisíc měsíčně. Kolik stojí Ovčáček s Mynářem". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Prague: Mafra. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  16. Zelenka, Jakub; Sulek, Marcel (3 November 2016). "Fašizující oponenti, šašci z pražské kavárny a terče Herman se Sobotkou. Ovčáčkův Twitter v datech". Lidové noviny (in Czech). Mafra. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  17. Koubová, Karolína; Ševčíková, Šárka (6 May 2015). "Peroutka artikuloval protektorátní politiku, opakuje Jiří Ovčáček. Článek Hitler je gentleman hledá ve volném čase". Czech Radio (in Czech). Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  18. Svačina, Pavel (29 April 2015). "Zeman: Článek jsem četl a musí se najít, i když to Ovčáčka stojí čas". iDNES (in Czech). Prague: Mafra. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  19. "Mynář rezignuje k 8. březnu, sdělila Vohralíková. Ovčáček zatím odchod řeší". ČT24 (in Czech). Czech Television. 1 March 2023.
  20. Aust, Ondřej (13 April 2023). "Jiří Ovčáček začal psát pro Život v Česku". Médiář (in Czech). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  21. Veselovský, Martin (8 November 2016). "Ovčáček ve funkci selhává. Vlastní TV prezidenta je ale výborný nápad, říká expert". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). Economia. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  22. Zavřel, Filip (12 January 2016). "Sociální Sítě Jiřího Ovčáčka – Boj S Větrnými Mlýny". Politický Marketing (in Czech). Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  23. "Ovčáček spouští svou televizi "OVTV". Chystá logo a přenosy z Hradu". Echo24 (in Czech). 4 June 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  24. Pros, Marek (20 June 2019). "Lidé si utahují z Ovčáčkova Twitteru, domlouvají si u něj rande a vyměňují recepty". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). Economia. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  25. Dočekal, Daniel (26 June 2019). "Proti trollingu Ovčáčka: Twitterová taškařice může mít opačný účinek, než doufají její autoři". Deník N (in Czech). N Media. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  26. Omelka, Josef (11 November 2016). "O Ovčáčka čtveráčka je velký zájem. Divadlo přidalo další reprízy". Týden (in Czech). Empresa Media. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  27. Šťástka, Tomáš (26 June 2017). "Ovčáček miláček. Pokračování kabaretu doplní postava Babiše i Kajínka". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  28. "Ovčáček je miláček. Nekorektní kabaret pokračuje s Babišem i Kajínkem". ČT24 (in Czech). Czech Television. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  29. "Čtveráček". Zatrolené Hry (in Czech). Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  30. "Talkshow Jiřího Ovčáčka. Pořad spouští TV Barrandov na konci srpna". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  31. "Týden s prezidentem na TV Barrandov končí. Talkshow Jiřího Ovčáčka byla pozastavena". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). 15 January 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  32. Wirnitzer, Jan (11 September 2018). "Ovčáček přestoupil z husitské církve ke katolíkům, obřad vedl Dukův tajemník". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  33. Landsman, Dominik (8 November 2022). "Svobodné české ženy si rvou vlasy. Nadsamec Ovčáček se oženil, k oltáři ho dovezl Zeman". Reflex.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  34. Trousilová, Alžběta (18 December 2021). "Ovčáček se omluvil za své chování v opilosti, chce kontakt na taxikáře". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  35. "Opilý Ovčáček skončil v doprovodu policie v nemocnici. Prosím o odpuštění, řekl". iDNES (in Czech). Prague: Mafra. 18 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
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