# Tomáš Bella

> Slovak journalist and media entrepreneur Tomáš Bella co-founded Piano Media and served as its first CEO from 2010 to 2013. A co-founder and Chief Digital Officer of Denník N, he became CEO of EUobserver in 2026 after the Slovak publisher acquired the Brussels outlet. His work connects reporting, subscription publishing and open-source reader-revenue software.

- **Role:** CEO at EUobserver; Co-founder and Chief Digital Officer at Denník N
- **Organizations:** EUobserver, Denník N, N Press, Piano Media (former CEO and co-founder), SME (former editor), NextBig (co-founder)
- **Nationality:** Slovak
- **Education:** Journalism studies; exact qualification not verified, Comenius University in Bratislava
- **Known for:** Helped establish Piano’s shared Slovak paywall, launched in May 2011., Included in Journalism.co.uk’s 2010 list of 50 leading media innovators., Selected for New Europe 100 in 2014.

## Career timeline

- **1997** — Began professional internet reporting; early work included computer magazine CD Tip.
- **2000** — Joined SME; subsequently led its computer supplement.
- **2007-2009** — Editor-in-chief of Sme.sk, February 2007 to June 2009.
- **2010** — Co-founded Piano Media and became its first CEO.
- **2011** — Piano launched shared paid access with nine Slovak media organisations in May.
- **2012** — Piano expanded to Slovenia and Poland and announced a €2 million investment from 3TS.
- **2013** — Handed over Piano leadership and returned to SME as deputy editor-in-chief.
- **2014** — Joined the founding group of Denník N after leaving SME.
- **2015** — Published Sicily refugee reportage that won the Journalism Award for 2015.
- **2016** — Denník N received initial Google funding for REMP development.
- **2026** — Became CEO of EUobserver following its acquisition by Denník N.

## Achievements

- Helped establish Piano’s shared Slovak paywall, launched in May 2011.
- Included in Journalism.co.uk’s 2010 list of 50 leading media innovators.
- Selected for New Europe 100 in 2014.
- Won the Slovak Journalism Award for best reportage for 2015.
- Co-founded Denník N and helped develop its subscription business and open-source REMP platform.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Joined EUobserver as CEO as the outlet became part of Denník N.
- **2026-04** — Participated in the International Journalism Festival session on campaign-led reader-revenue growth.
- **2026-05** — Discussed EUobserver, Brussels and a book-in-progress with Miloš Čermák.
- **2026-07** — Reported EUobserver readership had nearly doubled since February; four team members had joined since the year began.

## Links

- Website: https://tomas-bella.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasbella/
- Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/kvasinka
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tomasbella.bsky.social
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomas.bella.kvasinka/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tbella

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tomas-bella
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23