She graduated from the Acting Department of the State Drama School in Warsaw, but before joining the “Wiadomości” team, Jolanta Pieńkowska worked as a stewardess and at the United States Embassy. She came to television from a competition in 1990, a time of major changes. Then “TV Journal” was replaced by a new news program (the first edition of “Wiadomości” was broadcast on Saturday, November 18, 1989 at 7:30 p.m., hosted by Wojciech Reszczyński and edited by Jacek Snopkiewicz). Pieńkowska first appeared on screen on August 2, 1990.
Jolanta Pieńkowska on the beginning of her work at TVP: We had the feeling that we were building a new Poland
In the early 1990s, Pieńkowska, Tomasz Lis, Grażyna Bukowska and Jarosław Gugała gained their first journalistic skills in “Wiadomości”. – We, as a team of these emerging “Wiadomości”, had the feeling that we were building a new Poland. With such a sense of a huge mission that when we show this Poland, this is the Poland you will see – she said in “Dzień Dobry TVN” two years ago, recalling her beginnings on TVP. She spent the next 14 years on public television. In 2001 she won the Wiktor award, she is also, among others, winner of two Telekamera awards (2003 and 2004).
Jolanta Pieńkowska at the Wiktory 2001 gala (left) and Ostre Pióra 2003 Agencja Wyborcza /Sławomir Kamiński /Wojciech Olkuśnik
According to politician Tomasz Nałęcz, Jolanta Pieńkowska’s removal from hosting “Wiadomości” was the result of her inquisitiveness regarding the possible connections of Robert Kwiatkowski, then president of TVP, with the so-called Rywin affair. Kwiatkowski brought the case in connection with an interview that he, then chairman of the investigative committee investigating the Rywin scandal, gave to “Życie Warszawy” in September 2003. In 2005, Nałęcz that after one of the conversations that Jolanta Pieńkowska had with him on Radio Three, he asked her: “Aren’t you afraid that you will face retaliation from Kwiatkowski, he doesn’t let such things go unpunished?” To which, after being removed from running “Wiadomości”, she allegedly told him “it happened”.
About leaving: “Wiadomości” was starting and completely different material was being broadcast
Pieńkowska herself did not comment on these words. a little about her farewell to TVP in an interview with “Przegląd”. She admitted that the decision had been brewing in her mind for a long time:
How much can you bang your head against the wall? It’s not like I had a sudden epiphany and said to myself: OK, I’m leaving television! It was a process, the decision was maturing, it was growing. The first signal came two years ago – the Rywin scandal and incredible manipulation of materials.
The name of Janusz Pieńkowski was mentioned (accidental coincidence), who was associated with the SLD environment. In 2002, “Reczpospolita”: “Michał Maliszewski is leaving the position of head of the Television Information Agency. According to the television, the decision was made at Maliszewski’s request. We will find out next week who will be the new head of TAI. The most serious candidate is Janusz Pieńkowski, closely associated with Prime Minister Miller. There is an anecdote circulating in Woronicza that when Leszek Miller was invited to one of the programs, Pieńkowski interrupted his holiday in Spain only to – as journalists say – be able to open the door to the TV studio for the SLD leader.
The journalist does not have good memories of cooperation with Pieńkowski as the head of TAI. He even allegedly interfered with the materials prepared for her “Wiadomości” program at the editing stage. – On television, before the program, the publisher and the host read together the material prepared by the reporter. They correct the text and only then the reporter starts editing. Meanwhile, we read the material, approved the text, the reporter went to the editing room, we continued preparing the program, “Wiadomości” started, and a completely different material appeared on the air. Fragments were cut out, some things were created – she told “Przegląd”.
Recording of the ‘New Year’s Eve on Channel 1’ program in 2003 Photo Maciej Zienkiewicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Pieńkowska: I argued, I cried, I screamed, I even got offended. But how much can you do?
After Penkovka’s complaint, the head of TAI allegedly called her for an interview and sent her on a long leave. Colleagues were to tell her that he hoped that after three weeks off he would not show up at Woronicza again. Even the president of TVP was supposed to get involved in the matter, but in the end the journalist said that “if you have been operating in something like this for two years, you really don’t want to fight anymore.” At the same time, Pieńkowska admits that “it wasn’t easy for her.”
I argued, I cried, I screamed, I even got offended. But how much can you do? When I hosted the program, I tried to make it look the way I wanted it to look. I want it to include the topics I want. And prepared by the reporters I want. So those who didn’t get the idea went to management and complained.
Robert Kwiatkowski, who headed Telewizja Polska in 1998-2004, when asked how much the stars of “Wiadomości” earned when you were the president of TVP, replied that “they earned well.” When asked by Magdalena Rigamonti whether it was 40,000 PLN per month, added:
Much more. They earned really good money because we had very good presenters. The stars were Jolanta Pieńkowska and Kamil Durczok.
– So there is no need to get angry when we hear about the earnings of Danuta Holecka or Adamczyk? – the journalist asked in 2021 in “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”, to which Kwiatkowski replied: Please compare it with the results. Durczok and Pieńkowska had an audience of six million. What kind of audience do Holecka and Adamczyk have? Half as much.
Jolanta Pieńkowska and Leszek Czarnecki Photo Sławomir Kamiński / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
How much did she earn and does she earn at TVN? We don’t know, but Jolanta Pieńkowska can be seen on TVN or TVN24 for many years. She has been associated with the group since 2006, in the meantime she also hosted “Trójka’s Political Salon” on Radio Three. Until 2008, she was the editor-in-chief of the monthly “Twój Styl”. Together with her second husband, she founded the Jolanta and Leszek Czarnecki Foundation.
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.
