The story
ČTK was founded on 28 October 1918, on the same day as Czechoslovakia, as Czechoslovak News Agency. It was formed from several unofficial Czech press agencies, which until then functioned in exile. It published in several languages, including in German together with then-official Czechoslovak.
The agency remained throughout both the Nazi and Communist regimes, however, its reporting was highly censored and it served the regimes' needs.
As modern ČTK
Following the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the government lost its power to interfere in editorial decisions. In 1993, the government relinquished control of the agency, which has since been managed by its CEO in his sole responsibility.
Following the Velvet divorce, the agency split into the Czech Press Agency, which kept using the ČTK branding, and a newly created News Agency of the Slovak Republic, also known as TASR.
Today, the lower house of Czech Parliament elects a ČTK Council, composed of seven members with limited oversight responsibilities. Members of the board are not allowed to be politically active.
Together with the Czech Television and Czech Radio, it belongs to the modern-day Czech public service media. Unlike the other two organisations, ČTK does not receive funds from broadcasting fees since 1996, and is funded by offering commercial services.
From Wikipedia’s article on Czech News Agency, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5