Journalist Ondřej Neumann, former editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine Ekonom, founded Hlídací pes during a massive media purchase in the Czech Republic in 2014. "These oligarchs were not buying the media for profit but as nuclear suitcases. I decided not to give up, not to make it too easy for those in power, and to create a digital medium focused on investigation," Neumann says. The media outlet is managed through the Institute of Independent Journalism.
Neumann has 30 years of experience in journalism. "I was inspired by ProPublica.org, by their slogan: 'journalism in the public interest', Neumann says. The investigative cell has been working for eight years now, sharing its content for free, and funding itself through a mix of grants and donations.
"Our readers understand something is wrong when politicians and business people run the media," Neumann adds.
The newsroom is supported by the Czech Union of Industrialists. The organisation has also published several books on topics such as President Milos Zeman, Russian interests, subsidies received by Andrej Babiš, mapping the Czech justice, and foreign ties of Czech populists like Tomio Okamura. The books are offered to their donors, not sold.
Hlídací pes' journalists Robert Malecký, Tereza Engelová, and Robert Břešťan received Journalist Awards from Nadace Open Society Foundations (OSF).
Source: Oasis Europe
Last updated date: November 2025
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