Press Act no. 81/1966 and its influence on the events of the Prague Spring

Thesis deals with the Press Act no. 81/1966 Coll., on periodical press and other mass media and its influence on the events of the Prague Spring reform in 1968. I wanted to highlight how important role the press act and its legalization of censorship of the press and other mass media played in the process of democratization of the communist regime. Institutionalized censorship became the impetus for sharpening criticism of the ruling Communist Party. After many years when censorship interventions were carried out illegally, it was possible to lawfully defend against this tool of communist managing, controlling and restricting freedom of expression and to demand its abolition. Very strongly the demand for abolition censorship came after IV. congress of the Union of Czechoslovak Writers. Part of the reform-minded senior officials of the Communist Party which supported the democratization of the system, advocated the attainment of freedom of expression, because they knew that a free media can most effectively contribute to the reform ideas with which they identify. Achieving abolition of censorship then really brought into media content quite open criticism of the existing socio situation in the country and also an appeal that it is necessary to reform it. Media created political pressure and acted as..