Maciej Orło¶ disgusted by the debate on TVP: The collapse of all norms, principles and rules of journalistic workshops

The pre-election debate organized by TVP aroused many emotions many days before its broadcast. At the last minute, the national broadcaster changed the time and place of the recording, as well as the rules of the debate itself. However, most comments appeared after it had ended. One of the people who decided to speak out on this matter is Maciej Orłości, who years ago was a long-time presenter of “Teleexpress” on TVP1.

Maciej Orłości worked for TVP for many years. Now he cannot understand how the so-called public television

In a post on Instagram, he bluntly pointed out all the clumsiness and distortions made by the national broadcaster when organizing the pre-election debate. At the beginning, he referred to the opinions of other journalists, i.e. Mariusz Szczyg³ and Damian Maliszewski, who also criticized the way in which TVP organized the debate. He added that in the future it could be shown to students as an anti-example:

To what e.g. Damian Maliszewski or Mariusz Szczygieł wrote about the debate, I will add a few words about ‘Wiadomości’ broadcast immediately after the debate. Because, of course, the debate was a set-up, the questions were extremely tendentious – they contained PiS propaganda theses referring, moreover, to this idiotic referendum, Rachoń dared to comment – scandalously – on the statement of the opposition leader. Yes, this debate will one day be presented during journalism studies as a denial of all rules, comments Maciej Orłości.

Later in the entry, the journalist focused on TVP1’s “Wiadomości”, which is a flagship item in the national broadcaster’s schedule. In this case, he also did not spare words of criticism towards the television daily, which many people say is nothing more than a propaganda mouthpiece for the ruling camp. He called him a “barker”, wrote directly what he thought about the people working in the production of “Wiadomości”, and also noted that their actions were taken contrary to applicable law.

“The News, however, will hopefully be shown as a freak pretending to be a news program, but in fact being a barker – that’s a good word – a barker of power, like dictatorial countries. I forced myself to watch this evening’s News. What Ms. Edyta Lewandowska and her team of “journalists”, “editors” and “reporters” did was a total collapse of all norms, principles, rules of journalistic workshop and journalistic ethics – in general, and public media even more so. Using Polish Television for propaganda of one specific party, making news programs solely to do good to those in power is disgusting and illegal (e.g. Article 21 of the Broadcasting Act),” he continues.

At the end of the post, he allowed himself an indiscriminate comment aimed at representatives of the ruling camp. He also mentioned that he had never expected that the “public mission” in Poland after 1989 would be implemented in this way.

It would seem that there would be no such wickedness, dishonesty, and manipulation of viewers straight from the communist era in the new, free Poland belonging to the EU, but there is. You can deny it, ladies and gentlemen from PiS and SP, pretend that you don’t know what it’s about, but you won’t cheat your conscience. Karma will come back, he concluded.