Deník Referendum

Deník Referendum is a digital native media outlet established in 2009 and based in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic.

"Initially, the idea was to create a platform to represent underrepresented opinions. In the post-Soviet space, a socialist and green perspective was missing. It is an ideology, but not connected to political parties. We are an independent left-wing media platform," says founder and editor-in-chief Jakub Patočka.

In 2014, DR's newsroom started to produce investigations, analysis, in-depth interviews, and value-added reporting.

The team also published an investigative book and created an investigative podcast. The slogan is "no oligarchs, no paywall. Just your donations and our work". There is no paywall, so the information is available to everyone, but readers can donate to support the newsroom.

The true-crime podcast Akce olej by journalists Brit Jensen and Zuzana Vlasatá received the OSF Journalist Award for Best Investigation in the audio-visual category in 2021.

In 2022, investigative reporter and deputy editor-in-chief Gaby Khazalová received the European Press Prize as a member of the collaborative data journalism project Cities for Rent.

Recently, editor-in-chief Jakub Patočka has come up with a new source of income: "The readers who wish to debate under the articles pay a fee. This approach generates a modest income and also helps cultivate the discussion in the comment section."

Last updated: January 2023

Source: Oasis Europe