Talks between President Andrzej Duda and representatives of all political options that have entered the Sejm are currently underway. Three parties (Civic Coalition, Third Way and Left) are ready to create a coalition that would remove Law and Justice, which has been ruling Poland for eight years, from power. Therefore, these three groups announce the introduction of profound changes in the functioning of public media.
“The media is created by journalists. There is no return to the old. Public media must be built anew”
Some time ago, the portal informed about the plans of the current opposition, which intends to put both companies into liquidation and appoint receiverships. Thanks to such a procedure, it would be possible to introduce changes in the public media, regardless of the National Media Council established by the PiS government. The portal’s informants also indicated potential names who may take power in the future, including: on Polish Radio.
Wojciech Dorosz, a journalist of the Third Program of Polish Radio, as well as the vice-chairman of the Trade Union of Journalists and Employees of Trójka and the president of the Association of Journalists and Creators of Public Radio, reacted to these reports. In an interview with Wirtualne Medialne, he pointed out that this information does not make him or the other members of the organization optimistic.
I’ll be honest: we got angry when specific names appeared in the media. These are people who know their stuff, so it’s not about them, it’s about how it’s done. No competition, no consultation. We feel like eight years ago again, when people were sent to Polish Radio to clean things up according to political orders. This system is sick and should be changed immediately, Dorosz said.
They believe that changes in public media should take place in a different manner than planned by the United Opposition
Both above-mentioned organizations published a statement on the future of public media on Monday. Former and current journalists of Polish Radio (including Dorota Nygren, Magdalena Łoś, Joanna Sławińska, Paweł Sołtys, Joanna Grotkowska, Marcin Majchrowski, Anna Orzeł, Ernest Zozuń, Izabela Żukowska) write in it that public media must be depoliticized, and “journalists, experts, practitioners and creators with managerial experience” should have the decisive say on the functioning of public media.
We believe that neither politicians nor journalists with a political past should manage them. And the process of changes in this spirit must begin immediately, without justifying the transition period, regardless of the actions the new government of the democratic opposition decides to take, we read in the statement.
Moreover, Wojciech Dorosz in an interview with Wirutalne Media emphasizes that the Association of Journalists and Creators of Public Radio has been conducting talks for some time, among others. with Jan Dworak, Jan Ordyński and Janusz Daszczyński on the draft of the new media law.
– We have been repeating for a long time that the original sin of the Broadcasting Act of 1992 was the lack of separation between politicians and public media management. The authorities of the Polish Radio and Television should be elected in a transparent manner, in open competitions, which has been missing especially in recent years. To this day, there is no social supervision over public media, he explains.
Dorosz noted that the so-called a broad social council that is supposed to control them and prevent politicians from accessing them. – We are concerned about the voices of some politicians who want to use the mechanisms introduced by PiS to purge and take over public media. It cannot be like eight years ago, when it was stated that the sovereign had decided and now only the views of that part of society that voted for the winning party would be represented on Polish Radio – he emphasizes.
Journalists have a plan to rebuild the position of Polish Radio. First of all, you need to deal with PR24
Wojciech Dorosz, however, points out that work on the new act may take several years. However, the statement signed by many journalists includes the so-called an emergency action plan, the implementation of which will allow the public media to be cleansed.
Several dozen people should leave Polish Radio. There is a large group of publicists and political commentators with very expressive views and a servile attitude towards the still ruling party, who definitely should no longer work in the public media. Perhaps it is enough to talk to them and if they find that they will not be able to work in the new realities, they will go elsewhere. There will probably be large layoffs, although a significant number of these people are not employed here. They are employed under B2B or civil law contracts. However, I do not believe that because of these several dozen party officials, the punishment should fall on the remaining over 1,200 employees of Polish Radio, often associated with this institution for many years – says Dorosz in an interview with Wirutalne Media.
The journalist also points out that the biggest changes should take place in Polskie Radio 24, which, in his opinion, does not fulfill a public mission. Let us recall that PR24 significantly increased its reach in 2016, when it replaced Czwórka – Program IV of Polish Radio on analog waves.
– PR24 has become an antenna that does not fulfill its public mission. The station took the place of the Four, which at various times of its existence was more or less missionary. But it was decided to replace it with PR24, because it was explained that young people listen to the radio only on the Internet, so Czwórka was moved there. However, the question is whether such a news radio is necessary. However, this antenna will certainly require the most serious changes. Similarly to TVP Info – says Wojciech Dorosz.
The conversation also touched on the topic of Program III, from which the vast majority of journalists left over three years ago. The station suffered a massive image crisis, which translated into weakening listenership results. Dorosz points out that in the case of this station the problem is much more complicated.
Maybe it should be concluded with them [zwolnionymi pracownikami – przyp. red.] settlement, or maybe they should be reinstated if they so choose. Secondly, there was a large group of people who did not want to come to terms with what happened with Trójka and in 2020 left the station and founded their own radio stations. (…) This resulted in well over half of the team disappearing from Trójka, and it is impossible to run a radio station with just a dozen or so people, and new ones had to be hired. Of those who came to us at that time, not all of them are apparatchiks and propagandists. They came because they saw an opportunity for themselves, a fulfillment of their passion or simply the opportunity to work. And there is no point in applying the same measure to those who were sent here, often from TVP Info or other right-wing media.
In a statement they say that public media should stand out for the quality of their programs
At the end of the conversation, Dorosz pointed out that in the programs of the three parties that plan to form a government together, there were mentions of the need to “repair and de-partisan the public media and subject them to social control, among others by including citizens in the election of the management of these media.” The journalist believes that public media should be as objective as possible and show every point of view. In his opinion, this is a remedy for a society that is extremely polarized.
However, the content of the statement shows that public media should not “race” with commercial broadcasters for advertisers. Moreover, they indicate that viewership and listenership in this case should be of secondary importance. “Prestige and credibility are key,” they emphasize.
I’m probably an idealist, but I believe that public media should not be determined by the number of recipients, but by the quality of the program. Just like it happens in the United States. There, public media have a modest reach, but they reach educated people who, based on the ambitious content provided to them, shape their opinions and pass them on. As a result, the influence of American public media on society is incomparably greater than their measurable viewership or listenership, explains Wojciech Dorosz.
Moreover, the content of the statement by members of the Association of Journalists and Creators of Public Radio and the management board of the Trade Union of Journalists and Employees of the Third Program of Polish Radio will soon be forwarded to politicians of the democratic opposition.
However, the journalists end their statement with this sentence: “We appeal to the representatives of the democratic opposition to limit themselves in the matter of media control. Past experience leaves no doubt that the influence of politicians on the media weakens them and deprives them of credibility. As former and current journalists of Polish Radio who have painfully experienced this influence, we have the right to demand it.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
