Anyone who works for TVP doesn’t laugh in a circus. I called the hotline “in defense of media pluralism”

“The hotline and special e-mail box of TVP are a response to the increasingly frequent attacks on journalists and announcements by opposition politicians regarding the liquidation of public television,” we read. Additionally, the National Media Council established by the PiS government, headed by Krzysztof Czabański, is involved in the campaign.

The statements of RMN members are quoted in the materials available on TVP stations. “We will defend the public media and their employees against the law-breaking activities announced by the opposition. Those guilty of breaking the law will sooner or later suffer severe consequences of their actions,” thunder the members of the National Media Council.

After the elections, there was a sense of quiet anxiety on TVP. Now there’s a cry for “help”

Since Friday, on TVP Info you can hear various statements from supporters of public media in its current form. The mood is also fueled by materials showing how “bad” the public media were eight years ago. Propagandists show, among others: the headline of “News” from May 9, 2013, showing the parade of Russian soldiers and the parade on Red Square in Moscow.

Let us recall that at that time, each issue of the TVP1 news daily included a front page copy of the material presenting the most important events of the day. I don’t remember if anything more noteworthy happened that particular day, but I’m guessing not. Therefore, it is possible that the editorial staff of the then “Wiadomości” decided to cover the main edition with a report on the Russian Victory Day celebrations.

Even then, this situation sparked fierce opposition among right-wing journalists. The comments of people cooperating with “Gazeta Polska”, “Fronda” and the wPolityce.pl portal can be found in an article from ten years ago. It is worth recalling that at that time these media did not have such reach and were perceived by many as completely niche.

I called a special hotline. However, TVP did not allow me to express my opinion

Let’s get back to the core of the topic, i.e. the hotline mentioned above. First of all, I must admit that I am very disappointed. I expected that the voice would be answered by someone like Halina “Helen” Wachowicz from the former Trójka, who was the publisher of many programs and was often the one who answered calls from listeners calling the station. In the case of the “in defense of pluralism” hotline, no person answers the phone, and we start to hear a previously recorded man who says:

Good morning, thank you for contacting us. As a result of constant political attacks on Telewizja Polska and TVP journalists and the attempt to eliminate the information and journalistic programs of Telewizja Polska, we would like to ask you for expressions of solidarity. After the signal, you can express your opinion. We would like to inform you that selected recordings may be used and broadcast on Polish Television. If you do not consent to the recording, please hang up.

I decided to stay on the line to see what would happen next and here came another disappointment. Suddenly I heard Jack’s familiar voice from Ivon’s speech synthesizer, shouting: “Your voicemail box is full“, and then the message quoted above is played again. And so on in a loop.

Apparently, there are so many people willing to express their opinions that national media employees can’t keep up with listening to the recordings and clearing their voicemail boxes. But should this be surprising? Absolutely. The whole curiosity of this situation is not only that it is a hotline “in defense of pluralism”, but also the fact that in 2023 it was decided to use voicemail, which has been a thing of the past for some time now. There are other (more efficient) ways of contacting recipients, but I don’t want to suggest it to anyone at TVP. I hope it won’t be necessary soon.