American Journalist in the Czech Republic

Erik Best is the publisher of Fleet Sheet, a daily publication that releases the most important news in business, politics and culture. Best received most of his education in the United States, and moved to Prague in 1991 after pursuing other possible career paths. Best was born in North Carolina, though he spent his childhood and gained his first journalism job in Montana. He focused on Central and Eastern European studies while in school. Best earned a degree from Georgetown University in 1985, with a concentration on the Russian Language. He furthered his study of Russian at Middlebury College, where he was awarded his Master’s Degree.

Best complimented his many years of Russian by studying in Moscow in 1983 and 1984.  He is currently fluent in Czech, English, Russian and French. In 1987 he completed his MBA at the University of North Carolina. Before becoming a professional journalist he experimented with investment banking and management consulting.

            Best established his publication in 1991 upon his arrival to the Czech Republic. Before he moved to Prague, he traveled throughout Europe and examined a list of cities to see where his business plan would be the most lucrative. The Fleet Sheet has continued to grow in popularity since it was established over 20 years ago. Fleet Sheet is a single sheet of the most important news that is distributed each business day at 8am. His original business plan was modeled around the fact that fax machines could only fax one paper at a time. Attempting to fax more than a single sheet was a difficult process. Therefore he designed the single sheet of news that covered the news that people truly needed to know. Best created “Final Word” in 2001 in order to expand the offerings of his publication. Final Word was created in 2001 and was followed by “The Friday Edition” a decade later in 2011. Erik Best has established a significant following, which is becoming increasingly difficult for small news publications in the 21^st century. Erik has become well known from his different publications and he has been featured on numerous radio and television stations.

            Best has proven to be the right man for the job. His education in the United States and his knowledge of diplomacy and language has allowed him to quickly make a name for himself. Erik Best offers a concise and unique view on the current state of Czech politics and business.

(This article written on Erik Best is meant to be a part of a blog)