Vladimir Puchala Remains TASR General Director for Next Five Years
Bratislava, August 24 (TASR) – Vladimir Puchala defended the post of general director of the News Agency of the Slovak Republic (TASR), chairman of the TASR board of directors Jozef Bednar announced following Wednesday’s hearing of candidates for the post of head of the public news agency.
“Following a discussion on the presented projects, the board of directors unanimously decided that Vladimir Puchala will become the TASR general director for the next five-year period. His project appealed to us with its comprehensiveness, the vision of further development, but also the continuity it offers,” said the head of the board of directors.
Bednar points out that it won’t be easy to implement the presented project, especially from an economic point of view. “However, the old-new general director has proven through his work so far that he’s the right candidate who should lead a public institution such as TASR, and he has what it takes to carry out the goals outlined in his programme,” added Bednar.
Puchala emphasises that the re-election isn’t the end of efforts, but an opportunity for continuity. “There’s a lot of work ahead of us that we have to do, we carry on,” he stressed.
The TASR head also listed the nearest goals, including the launch of a new client zone for the distribution of text news stories and subsequently photos. He admits that a big challenge for the management under his leadership will be to ensure the financial and personnel stability of the company in difficult economic times, which will enable strengthening the reputation of the TASR brand. “We have to deal with inflation, salary increases and all inputs so that there’s a quality team of professionals who will be well paid,” he added.
In addition to Vladimir Puchala, the other people who ran for the post of TASR general director were Pavol Pavlik and Rastislav Borsik.
The TASR general director is elected by the agency’s board of directors in a public vote, the successful candidate must receive an overall majority of all the votes from members of the board of directors.
The mandate of the TASR general director lasts for five years, he can be elected repeatedly, for a maximum of two consecutive terms of office.
