They checked whether TVP’s “19.30” featured a photograph of the world instead of an image. It turns out that not entirely

On December 20, 2023, there was a change of authorities at Telewizja Polska, which immediately decided to suspend the broadcast of TVP Info and all news programs. A day later, a new main TV daily “19.30” appeared, which, according to the host Marek Czyż, was to present “a photograph of the world, not a painting”.

They checked “19.30”, “Fakty” and “Events”. The three main dailies are not as similar as they seem

Now the program has been looked at by specialists from the content verification website Demagog. They took a closer look at all January editions of “19.30” and compared them with the competing “Fakty” TVN and “Wydarzenia” Polsat. Their report shows that the ruling coalition’s announcements regarding the depoliticization of public media have not been completely fulfilled.

In the introduction, we read that the experts only paid attention to information favorable to Donald Tusk’s government, negative for the government, which the “19.30” editorial team omitted, and information about the political camp of the United Right and President Andrzej Duda.

“We do not focus on verifying the information presented in the ‘19.30’ program, but we are interested in whether the narrative about the government and opposition in the new TVP news program differs from the one that could be seen by viewers of ‘Events’ and ‘Fakty’,” we read.

The analysis of the January editions of the “19.30” program is not very optimistic for its creators

shows that viewers of “7.30” could not learn about important information shown in competing dailies. This includes the case of the arrest of former MPs Maciej Wąsik and Mariusz Kamiński. Four commentators who were critical of PiS spoke for TVP. However, Polsat and TVN also showed the positions of the Chancellery of the President and PiS.

The TVP1 news program also did not mention the case of the broken bus, which was supposed to make it difficult for Andrzej Duda to get from Belweder to the Presidential Palace while the arrest of Law and Justice politicians was ongoing. There was also little mention of the protests by supporters of the former ruling camp in front of the prisons. In turn, TVN and Polsat dailies also talked about it.

Moreover, according to the Demagogue, the TV daily “19.30” was not impartial towards the president’s actions. They point out that the material about the pardon of Wąsik and Kamiński “had a strong presidential character.” Moreover, experts appearing in the program “called Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik ‘cronies’ of President Duda, and the decision itself – a ‘political ploy’.” Moreover, the TVP1 daily showed mocking memes attacking the president, while competing stations did not do so.

Experts also point out that the program omits information that may be unfavorable to the ruling coalition, and those that are unfavorable to the PiS camp are particularly exposed. As an example, they cite the issue of January 9, 2024, when there was talk of an investigative commission on envelope elections. In their opinion, the TVP daily was the only one that did not quote former government politicians who believed that envelope elections in Bavaria were proof that such voting was possible.

Such nuances are also mentioned: material about the earnings of Joanna Kurska, wife of the former head of TVP Jacek Kurski, who comes from Solidarna Polska. In turn, no mention was made of the situation when Minister of Culture Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz did not stand for the anthem in the Sejm Meeting Hall. “The image was cropped so that the sitting Minister Sienkiewicz could not be seen,” we read.

Some nuances are omitted, but they say more about events from abroad

The demagogue also points out that the creators of “19.30” talk about the successes of Tusk’s government, even when the previous government was behind their decision. “It was reported that previously the reimbursement of the test covered women aged 25-59, and now it covers women up to 64 years of age. However, they forgot to add that this change – on the initiative of the previous government – entered into force on November 1, 2023” – indicate.

In the report of the fact-checking website, we can also read about the marginalization of Confederation politicians, materials critical of CPK and the promotion of Rafał Trzaskowski in relations with WOŚP. On the positive side, we can learn that “19.30” devotes more time to materials devoted to international issues than in competing dailies.